‘Take heart at strength of rental market’ says commentator

A leading market monitor suggests voids are increasing but otherwise states the rental market is in good health, one year on from the start of the pandemic.

That’s a cause for relief according to the author of the monitor, Tom Mundy, chief operating officer of the PropTech firm Goodlord.

“Despite the lockdown, the pace of new lets remains encouraging and the rise in voids looks to be directly linked to a small amount of lockdown-induced friction” he says.

“Rents are holding up well and the latest figures on tenant salaries are also encouraging, although the end of the furlough scheme and its potential impact is still several months away, and something that both letting agents and landlords should bear in mind” Mundy continues.

“As we inch towards the one-year anniversary of the initial pandemic-induced turmoil, the lettings markets and all its stakeholders should be heartened by how resilient the current picture continues to be.” 

Goodlord’s latest rental index shows that the average void period for a rental property in England rose from 21 days in December - a month which saw a remarkably brisk market - to 24 days by late January, as lockdown restrictions and Christmas holidays created a lag on tenants finalising lets.

The biggest change came in the North East, where voids jumped from 21 to 29 days. The East Midlands also saw a marked slowdown; voids increased from 20 to 26 days. Greater London, the South East, and North West all saw more modest increases of less than four days and the South West saw no change month on month. 

It was a less changeable period for rents, which held steady across England despite the varied picture for voids.

The average cost of a rental property in England rose slightly from £866.64 to £875.46. This increase was driven by prices increasing slightly in the East Midlands, Greater London, the North East, North West and South East. 

The biggest rise was recorded in the North East, with the region recovering from a month of weaker rent prices in December; the average increased from £685.50 to £732.21. The South West saw average rents drop by two per cent, while rents held steady in the West Midlands.

The Goodlord index also looks at tenants' salaries as an indicator for the rental market.

After a worrying dip in the average salaries for tenants in December, January provided a more encouraging outlook. 

The annual salary of an English renter increased by six per cent from £24,930 to £25,175. Similar figures were recorded between July and October 2020. 

The six-month rolling average for salaries in England is now £24,653, following a decline throughout November and December 2020.

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