Index Shows Yearly Rental Growth of Over 6% in England in March 2024

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Goodlord Reveals Promising Figures for the Private Rental Sector in March

Goodlord’s March 2024 Rental Index reveals key figures for the private rental sector. They use tenancies processed through the Goodlord platform to collect the data, including average rents, voids, and more. These are important trends to keep track of when buy-to-let investing.

Looking at the whole of England, February this year saw a higher-than-expected increase in average rents. After that, in March 2024, rents remained steady. The average for March came out as £1159. Compared to the February figure of £1162, this is a monthly decrease of just 0.2% or £3 in cash terms.

When it comes to the year-on-year difference, March rents are up by over 6% compared to last year. Goodlord has also revealed that rent in March 2024 is a massive 28% higher than in March 2020.

By looking at these year-on-year changes, we can learn more about long-term property investment.

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Regional Breakdown

When searching for the best area to buy a rental property, looking at regional differences in data is imperative.

The priciest region for renters is still London, with an average monthly rent of £1953. With monthly income like this, it’s easy to see why investing in London property is still a popular choice despite the sky-high property prices in the capital.

But London isn’t the only region with impressive growth over the years. The North West’s average was £934.85, up from £877.50 in March 2023. The North East has the lowest average rent, sitting at £851.

William Reeve, CEO of Goodlord, said: “March was another strong performing month for the rental market, with rents and voids holding steady. However, the genuinely eye-opening data can be found in the year-on-year figures, which show just how rapidly rents across England have shifted since 2020.

In this post-pandemic era, rent rises have consistently outstripped inflation and evidence the needs of a growing tenant population colliding directly with lack of stock and a complicated combination of pressures facing landlords.”

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Void Period Figures Remain Static

Voids, the collective period when a property is left untenanted, have remained at the same average figure month-on-month, holding at 18 days.

Year-on-year, there has also been no change in the void average. 18 days was registered as the average void period in March 2023 and 2024.

The static void period average shows steady demand in the private rental sector, and it looks like high demand will keep exerting upward pressure on rental costs, causing further rent hikes in the future.

According to a study from the Resolution Foundation, rents will climb nearly as fast as earnings until 2027, meaning rental inflation is likely to keep soaring for the next three years.

To learn more about the UK buy-to-let market, take a look at some of our area guides focusing on specific property hotspots:

Author

Jessica Ferris

Jessica is a property content writer at RWinvest. Keeping a close eye on the UK property market, Jessica helps our readers stay informed and up to date on the latest market news and statistics.