Rents outside London fall for the first time since 2019

The average advertised rent of properties coming to market outside of London has fallen this quarter for the first time since pre-pandemic 2019, Rightmove says.

The average advertised rent of a home outside of the capital is now £1,341, dropping by 0.2% compared with last quarter.

While this equates to a drop of just £3 in newly advertised rents, it’s a key milestone for the market as the pace of rent growth slows.

And while rents are still 4.7% higher than this time last year, this is the slowest rate of growth since 2021.

London’s average rents continue to rise, with a thirteenth consecutive quarterly record of £2,695 – but that’s only 0.1% higher this quarter.

Improvement in supply and demand

Rightmove’s property expert, Colleen Babcock, said: “A first quarterly drop in rents is the culmination of several months of improvement in the balance between supply and demand.

“While new tenants are still paying more than they were at this time last year, the pace of growth continues to slow.

“However, though this is the big picture of market activity, agents on the ground still tell us that the market is very hot, and some areas have improved more than others when it comes to the supply and demand balance.”

Drivers of slowing rent growth

Rightmove says one of the drivers of slowing rent growth has been the gradual improvement in the available supply of rental properties – now 13% higher than at the same time last year.

There are also fewer prospective tenants looking to move than at this time last year and enquiry numbers drop by 16%.

Rightmove points to factors such as tenants buying, while agents report that tenants are choosing to stay put rather than move due to costs.

The average number of applications per rental property is still in double digits at 10, double the pre-pandemic average.

Available properties to rent

The number of available properties to rent has improved the most in the North East (+30%).

Tenants in Wales saw the lowest rise in supply (+3%), highlighting regional differences in supply improvements.

On average, 15% of homes for sale on Rightmove were previously for rent in 2024, compared with 13% in 2023.

London was the most affected, with nearly one in four (24%) homes for sale having previously been for rent, compared with one in five (20%) in 2023.