UK rental prices soar to a three year high
Posted on 10th August 2011
The average rental price of a UK property increased by 2.2 per cent in July to £767 – the highest it’s been for over three years, reveals HomeLet, the tenant referencing and specialist lettings insurance company.
Meanwhile demand for rented properties has also boomed, with 3.4 million households now privately renting, an increase of one million since 2005. In addition, the HomeLet Rental Index shows there’s been an increase in the number of tenants aged between 26 and 35 who were previously living with a relative – which could be another sign of people feeling the squeeze during the recession and staying at home for longer. They said there had been a 16 per cent increase in the – admittedly small number– of people aged between 66 and 70 who have sold their home and become tenants over the past 12 months. The firm said 1,074 people had swapped home ownership for rental accommodation. The survey also found that 43 per cent of new tenants in July aged over 66 were previously living in a home they owned, compared to 37 per cent in July 2010. The firm said the fact that about 2 million pensioners in the UK are living in poverty suggests older people are selling their homes to release equity to fund their increasing living costs. John Boyle, MD of HomeLet, said: "Pensioners are already feeling the pinch with the spiralling costs of fuel, energy bills and basic food. Combined with a reduction in income, old people are increasingly struggling to pay to live through their retirement. This suggests the number of pensioners having to sell their home to move into rented properties could increase even more over the coming years." HomeLet’s Rental Index has access to the largest volume of data on agreed rental amounts in the UK and includes data gathered from over 3,000 letting agents – more than any other report on the market.