Happy New Year

Rental values continue to rise as demand for properties exceeds supply. While the New Year traditionally brings a flurry of new stock to the market, a consensus of independent forecasts predict that rental values will rise by over 3% during 2022.

Key Statistics

Value growth continues

The average monthly rent in England and Wales continues to creep upwards, reaching £1,021 at the end of December 2021, up 12.1% year-on-year. Across the premium market, annual rental growth remains largely unchanged at 10.5%, with the average prime market rent currently £3,188. Double-digit growth in prime rental values continues to be evident across half of all regions in England and Wales. Value growth is strongest across the North East, North West and East Midlands, with average premium rents exceeding £2,000 per month in the four most southerly regions. The resurgence of rental market activity across the capital continues, with the impact of Omicron on the market anticipated to be short-lived.

Landlord choices

The New Year leads many to reassess their priorities, but research indicates the reasons that landlords choose their agents remain largely unchanged. Local market knowledge remains the top priority for landlords when choosing an agent, followed by an agent’s ability to market a property (Dataloft, Property Academy, Landlord Survey 2021). The last year has seen a greater emphasis placed on agent reputation, management service, quality of website and positive reviews, with 87% of landlords considering reviews on websites. Just 4% of landlords chose their agent solely on the rental valuation and 6% because the agent offered the lowest fee. High-quality service remains critical to the choice of lettings agent.