Savills’ latest market snapshot for prime properties in the UK regions suggest that tenant priorities are gently shifting.
Across UK prime regional markets, rents rose 2.5 per cent in the second quarter, pushing annual growth up to 5.3 per cent – this is higher than the 5.0 per cent recorded in Q1 2023.
Regional towns and cities saw the strongest rental growth (4.4 per cent on the quarter, and 8.6 per cent on the year), as what Savills calls “the urban revival and back to the office trends” continue.
Edinburgh (up 5.9 per cent), Birmingham (5.6 per cent), Reading (4.1 per cent) and Manchester (4.0 per cent) saw the biggest increases in the quarter.
“Many tenants are now prioritising connectivity over space, reversing the trend that dominated the pandemic property market. In these locations the smallest properties (one or two beds) are seeing the highest rental growth, a trend we expect to see continue over the coming months, particularly as students return to University towns” says Savills’ Jessica Tomlinson.