Tenants outside London are now seeing advertised rents pass £1,400 a month for the first time, with Rightmove's latest figures putting the average asking rent at £1,418. This represents a 1.5% increase over the last quarter.
In London, the average advertised rent has also reached a new record of £2,825 a month. Annual growth in the capital has accelerated to 3.2%.
Nationally, annual rental growth is 2.4%, a decrease compared to the approximately 10% increases observed between 2021 and 2023. The number of homes available to let across the UK is down 2% on a year ago, with tenant demand also falling by the same proportion.
Rightmove's property expert, Colleen Babcock, noted that while average rents have hit new records, rental growth has continued to settle compared to the faster pace seen a few years ago. Supply remains constrained, contributing to upward pressure on rents, though demand is more measured, creating a more balanced market overall.
In London, the total number of homes available to let has fallen by 9% over the year, and new listings are down 7%. Tenant demand in the capital, however, has risen by 6%.
The average two-year fixed buy-to-let mortgage rate is currently 5.34%, up from 4.16% before the war in Iran. Rightmove's mortgage expert, Matt Smith, suggested that higher refinancing costs for landlords coming off cheaper fixed-rate deals could influence decisions to remortgage or sell.