January offered a mixed picture for landlords, with rents edging higher, but voids hitting their highest level for almost two years, data from Goodlord shows.
Tenant salaries saw another increase, hitting an all-time high in the lettings platform’s January Rental Index.
It says the average cost of rent for a property in England rose 0.5% in January to £1,076. This is 8% higher than a year ago.
Though prices in most regions “held steady” in the month, the biggest shifts were in the East Midlands, where rents rose 3.4% to £924, and the North East, where tenant costs fell 2.8% to £778.
The study says: “Prices, however, continue to remain lower than the record highs recorded in autumn 2022. Average rental costs in September 2022 hit an index high of £1,249.81.”
But the index reports that despite ongoing demand for rental properties “keeping prices buoyant”, January recorded a notable increase in void periods across England.
The number of void days per property rose from 20 to 23, a rise of 15%.
This follows six months of gradually increasing void numbers and is the highest figure recorded by the index since April 2021, the survey says.
In July 2022, shortly before rental costs hit their annual peak, voids fell to 10 days, a record low for the index.
It adds: “Voids have been rising month on month since then.”
The East Midlands, Greater London, the North West, and the South East all saw sizeable increases in their average void periods last month.
The North West on average jumped from 20 to 27 days, with numbers lifting from 13 days to 17 in Greater London, while the South East saw a rise from 19 to 24 days.
By contrast, the South West and the North East saw no change in their average void lengths.
The index also reported that tenant salaries hit a record in January, with average take-home pay for renters in England peaking at £32,195, up 6% on December.
The biggest shift over the last month came in the North East, where average salaries rose 11% to £28,890.
The study adds: “Tenant salaries are now 12% higher year on year — well ahead of the average rental cost rise.”
Goodlord chief operating officer Tom Mundy says: “This was certainly an interesting month for the market. There’s clearly a huge amount of demand for available properties and costs remain consistently high, but we do seem to have firmly come down from the price peaks seen last autumn.
“And, at the same time, this was definitely a slower-paced month than we’ve become accustomed to. January isn’t traditionally the busiest month for lettings, and the void numbers reflect this.
“The tenant salary numbers are also noteworthy, hitting a new high this month, with year-on-year increases to pay continuing to outstrip the average rise in rental prices.”
