Rents across England dipped in November, according to our latest Rental Index, while voids and tenant salaries inched up.
The latest Rental Index from Goodlord has shown that it wasn’t just temperatures that cooled in November: rents across England were also down. At the same time, void periods were inching up, as were tenant salaries. And although winter traditionally is a quieter time for the lettings market, rental prices remain significantly up year on year, despite this cooler patch.
Rents dip in every region monitored
All seven English regions monitored by the Index saw a decrease in the average cost of rent during November. The cost of renting a property dropped by 2% overall - going from £1,111 in October to £1,087 in November.
The biggest shift was seen in the North West, where a 5% reduction in the cost of rent was recorded. Average prices dropped from £903 to £858 per month.
The smallest change was recorded in the South East, where rents moved by less than 1% - reducing from £1,194 to £1,187.
Rental costs are now at their lowest since June 2022. This follows a 4-year trend of prices dropping between October and November in England, according to Index data, as winter sets in and student demand dissipates.
However, rental prices are still up by 11% compared to 2021 averages.
Voids increase during cooler patch
As rents dipped, voids rose in six out of the seven regions monitored by Goodlord. The average void period was 20 days in November, up from 18 days in October. This means voids are now at their highest level recorded since January of this year.
The South West saw the biggest change: with voids rising from 17 days to 23 days. This is the highest voids average recorded for the region since January 2022.
The only region not to see a rise in voids was the South East (which also recorded the smallest shift in rental costs). Voids in the South East dropped from 19 days to 18.
Tenant salaries hit Index record
During a month where rental prices were cooling, tenant salaries broke a Rental Index record: hitting the highest average ever recorded by the Index. The average pay of a renter in England was £31,105 in November, up from £30,717 in October - a 1.3% rise.
This means average salaries are now 12.5% higher when compared to 2021 averages.
Tom Mundy, COO, Goodlord, comments:
“Whilst we are contending with higher rental prices across the board and serious, ongoing pressures on rental stock, we are continuing to see the annual fluctuations we’d expect at this time of year. Things do tend to cool down as we head towards Christmas, with people delaying moving house until the spring, and we can see that reflected in the November figures. This is likely to mean an even busier than normal start to 2023 for agents and landlords - meaning that extra preparations to help cope with the coming demand may be needed.”
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