Rent Prices up 11% in One Year

Rent prices in Scotland have risen faster than anywhere else in the UK, a letting support agency has found. Average monthly rents have risen by more than a tenth (11.7%) in the last year, from £571 to £638, mainly due to a large 8.7% jump between October and November, according to the HomeLet Rental Index. Scottish rent growth has even outstripped Greater London, where prices increased by 11% from £1,268 to £1,408. HomeLet puts the rise down to Aberdeen's thriving oil-driven rental sector and Scotland's comparatively strong employment and economic figures. Scotland is now the sixth most expensive place to rent a home out of 12 UK regions surveyed, up from tenth place in 2013. However, rents remain below the UK average of £874, or £702 once the booming Greater London market is excluded. Scottish growth contrasts with an annual drop in rents of 2.5% and 3.6% in neighbouring North East and North West England respectively. Martin Totty, chief executive of HomeLet parent company Barbon Insurance, said: "We see the autumn's moderation in rental growth as broadly in line with the typical seasonal effect that often sees rental prices balance or even slip into reverse in many areas of the country at this time of year. "The outlook for the private rented sector remains positive for several reasons - the pace of housebuilding is unlikely to have a significant effect on the supply of property to buy or to rent in the short-term, high house prices and a mortgage market where lending criteria remains constrained are combining to ensure that the demand from tenants needing rented accommodation remains strong. "In terms of seasonal highs we see Scotland bucking the trend of the rest of the country, the rapid growth in the Scottish rentals market reflects the strength of the economy north of the border - particularly in oil-rich Aberdeen, which has a thriving rentals sector, but also in other Scottish cities and throughout the country. "A report published this week shows Scotland now has the highest employment and economic activity rates - and the lowest unemployment rate - of the any of the four nations of the UK.''