UK rent increase MAPPED: The 14 cities where rent is rising - how YOUR area compares
HOUSE prices have been on a steep rise for over a year with the pandemic causing a shake-up in the property market, but while the focus has largely been on those purchasing homes, what's the market like for those looking to rent?
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The rise of remote working at the start of the pandemic lured many Brits out of their city-life as the race for space saw a spike in more rural settings on the property market. As the nation returns to normality, demand for rented properties in the city has risen by 33 percent in August alone, but where in the UK is rent climbing the most?
In its quarterly Rental Market Report published today, Zoopla reported that the data shows a clear trend in renters rushing back to city centres after a pandemic-driven exit.
Where is rent rising the most?
The report by the UK’s leading property portal found that the rates of rent per calendar month have risen the most in Nottingham, Newcastle and Bristol which stole the top three spots on the map.
Kate Eales, Head of Regional Residential Agency at Strutt & Parker, told Express.co.uk: “Rents are recording healthy growth in cities, but in the most desirable areas, there’s evidence of growth up to 25 percent.”
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The top 14 cities with the highest growth in rent
Data collected by Zoopla, which excludes London, has found that the top 14 cities in the UK with the highest annual growth in rent are as follows:
1. Nottingham - 7.9 percent increase
2. Newcastle - 6.4 percent increase
3. Bristol - 6.3 percent increase
4. Sheffield - 6.1 percent increase
5. Liverpool - 5.8 percent increase
6. Belfast - 5.3 percent increase
7. Glasgow - 4.7 percent increase
8. Cardiff - 4.7 percent increase
9. Southampton - 4.0 percent increase
10. Birmingham - 3.3 percent increase
11. Cambridge - 2.8 percent increase
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12. Manchester 1.8 percent increase
13. Leeds - 1.4 percent increase
14. Edinburgh - 0.2 percent increase
According to Zoopla, UK rents outside of the capital city are rising at their highest rate for over a decade, currently tracking at plus five percent year on year.
Why is rental demand increasing?
While the demand was focused on more spacious rental properties at the height of the pandemic, houses outpaced the demand for rented flats which are largely concentrated in major cities.
As the demand for city-living grows once again, the rate at which rented flats in the bustling centres of the UK are being snapped up has soared as normality is restored - with low supply and high demand thought to be driving the growing rates of rent.
Affordability is thought to play a significant role in the growing rates of rental properties, with average earnings rising faster than rents.
Zoopla told Express.co.uk: “The ONS recently reported that average earnings for those in employment are rising faster than rents, with an 8.8 percent rise in total pay year on year in June.”
The property portal reported that monthly rents are averaging £790, up from £752 a year ago which equates to renters paying an average increase of £456 per year.