Average rent across the UK reaches record high

Rightmove said the average number of inquiries per rental property is down

The supply of homes available to rent has increased annually but is still below 2019 levels (PA Wire)

Rent prices outside London have hit a new record high.

Prices outside the capital have now reached £1,344 on average per month, having increased by 5.2% annually, according to a property website.

The average rent advertised for London properties also reached a new record of £2,694 per month, which was 2.5% higher than a year earlier, Rightmove said.

The figures cover the third quarter of 2024 across Britain.

Rightmove said the average number of inquiries per rental property is now 15, down from 23 last year, but nearly double the eight recorded in 2019.

The supply of homes available to rent has increased annually but is still below 2019 levels, Rightmove said.

It added that asking rents on more than a fifth (21%) of properties are being reduced before a tenant is found.

This is up from one in six (16%) last year.

As well as a higher proportion of asking rent reductions, Rightmove also said there were signs of some landlords selling up, with 18% of homes for sale being previously available to rent, up from 8% in 2010.

The average rent advertised for London properties also reached a new record of £2,694 per month (PA Wire)

Rightmove’s director of property science Tim Bannister said: “While we’re seeing some signs of improvement in the market’s chronic levels of demand and supply imbalance helped by a slight increase in the number of available rental properties, affordability remains a key challenge for renters as prices continue to hit new records.

“Tenant competition has eased slightly from last year, but the market is still far from balanced.”

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of property professionals’ body Propertymark, said: “Landlords have faced continuous financial and regulatory hurdles with many having to pass on certain costs by raising rents just to break even on their increasing expenditure.”

The news comes as Home buyers have been told they could save nearly £50,000 on average by purchasing a property in a new town, compared with house prices generally.

The average house price in a new town is £300,656, compared with a UK average of £346,995, Halifax said.

Over the past three decades, the average price of a new town-located property has risen by 441%, slightly lagging behind the average for the whole of the UK, where prices are up by 454%.

Some new towns have seen property prices increase by significantly more.

Crawley in West Sussex tops the list, with property prices surging by 543% since 1994, from £63,712 to £409,836.

Craigavon in Northern Ireland was placed second, having seen the average house price increase by 524%, from £31,189 to £194,560.

With its “magic roundabout” and handy commuting distance to London, Hemel Hempstead in the South East of England has experienced a 520% jump in the average house price, from £70,502 to £436,986.

The biggest percentage difference compared with the wider region was found in Peterlee, County Durham.

The average house price in Peterlee of £127,853 is 41% below that of the North East of England as a whole (£218,228).

Peterborough in Cambridgeshire was placed next, with properties costing 27% less on average than the East of England (£292,103 versus £402,248).

A major push for new towns followed the Second World War, driven by the need to rebuild and provide housing for those displaced by bombing and demolition programmes.

This research is based on data from the Halifax’s own housing statistics database. The prices used were averages for the 12 months to August in a given year.

An aerial view of Leverstock Green, near Hemel Hempstead (Steve Parsons/PA Wire)

– Here are the top 10 new towns for house price growth over the past 30 years, according to Halifax, with the average house price in 1994, the average in 2024 and the percentage increase:

1. Crawley, South East, £63,712, £409,836, 543%

2. Craigavon, Northern Ireland, £31,189, £194,560, 524%

3. Hemel Hempstead, South East, £70,502, £436,986, 520%

4. Northampton, East Midlands, £55,518, £337,421, 508%

5. Milton Keynes, South East, £69,464, £419,005, 503%

6. Corby, East Midlands, £46,465, £275,709, 493%

7. Basildon, South East, £56,024, £327,314, 484%

8. Stevenage, South East, £63,639, £364,132, 472%

9. Antrim, Northern Ireland, £39,482, £223,110, 465%

10. Peterborough, East of England, £51,838, £292,103, 463%

– And here are the top 10 new towns with the biggest discount to regional property price in 2024, according to Halifax, with the regional average house price followed by the new town average house price and the typical percentage “discount” for people buying in a new town:

1. Peterlee, North East, £218,228, £127,853, 41%

2. Peterborough, East of England, £402,248, £292,103, 27%

3. Skelmersdale, North West, £264,362, £193,095, 27%

4. Irvine, Scotland, £243,707, £178,322, 27%

5. Basildon, South East, £444,096, £327,314, 26%

6. Washington, North East, £218,228, £165,157, 24%

7. Runcorn, North West, £264,362, £203,658, 23%

8. Harlow, South East, £444,096, £345,248, 22%

9. Glenrothes, Scotland, £243,707, £194,691, 20%

10. Cumbernauld, Scotland, £243,707, £198,184, 19%

– And here are the top 10 new towns for the least expensive, first-time buyer, property price in 2024, according to Halifax, with the average price of a first-time buyer home and the typical percentage discount compared with the wider region:

1. Peterlee, North East, £108,256, 39%

2. Washington, North East, £119,625, 32%

3. Skelmersdale, North West, £146,527, 35%

4. Irvine, Scotland, £153,641, 22%

5. Cumbernauld, Scotland, £153,680, 22%

6. Glenrothes, Scotland, £167,563, 15%

7. Newton Aycliffe, North East, £167,965, 5%

8. Runcorn, North West, £172,483, 23%

9. East Kilbride, Scotland, £181,782, 8%

10. Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, £183,670, 1%