Rents in London rose for the second consecutive month according to Countrywide

September 12, 2017

The latest Countrywide PLC Monthly Lettings Index – August 2017 headlines ‘Rental sector grows as Landlords expand portfolios.’

Rents in Great Britain rose 1.6% year-on-year as rents in Greater London grew for the second consecutive month.

The Index shows that the number of landlords has fallen over the last two years despite a rise in supply of homes available to rent,  since 2015 the number of landlords has fallen by 154,000 despite 171,000 more rented homes.

Commenting on the analysis, Johnny Morris, Research Director at Countrywide, said:

“The increasing number of rented homes is being driven by landlords expanding their portfolios rather than new landlords entering the market.  Increasing regulation in the sector accompanied by recent changes to income tax relief on mortgage interest payments seem to be favouring more experienced, professional landlords.  Despite expanding portfolio sizes the sector is still characterised by those owning just one or two homes, 73% of landlords own one home.

“Rents rose in all regions across Great Britain to stand 1.6% up on the same time last year.  The number of landlord purchases continues to remain low which is feeding through into fewer homes on the rental market.  Rents in London rose for the second consecutive month, driven by a pickup in rents in outer London.”

Read the Countrywide PLC Monthly Lettings Index – August 2017 in full click here.

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

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