It will come as no surprise to property investors who have been busily purchasing landlord insurance on new projects to add to their portfolio that the average rent of a property in the UK has hit new levels. According to a report released by LSL Property Services the average rent achieved by landlords in the UK for June 2011 was £701 a month.
The news will be welcomed by landlords all across the UK and especially in London where the average rent exceeded £1,000 for the very first time. At £1,006 a month average rent in London went up by almost 7% in the last 12 months. Across the board, landlords have seen an increase in rental achievement of £28 a month compared to June 2010. The news has been good virtually everywhere, only property investors in the East of England have not experienced higher rental achievements over the last 12 months.
Off course for those outside London the good news on improved rental income is tempered by the fall in residual value of their properties but those in the business for the long term will be willing to shrug that off, considering the prospects of even higher returns over the next few years.
David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, was buoyant about the prospects for Landlords in the UK saying: “Tenant demand continues to reach ever higher peaks – and there simply isn’t enough rental property coming onto the market to match it.
“In areas like London where competition for rental property is most intense, it’s not unheard of for rental properties to be let within a day of coming on to the market. We’ve had five successive months of rent rises, but there is no sign of a let-up anytime soon. Despite several new deals on the market, securing a big enough mortgage remains a tall order for the average buyer. The climbing cost of living and renting is impacting how much renters can save for their deposit, and demand will remain high in short-term.”