Rents rose further in the three months to April, as fresh tenant demand continued to exceed new instructions, says the latest RICS Residential Lettings Survey (February - April 2012).
13 percent more chartered surveyors reported rents rose rather than fell in the three months to April. This growth was largely driven by increasing demand as a net balance of 15 percent more respondents reported rises in prospective tenants, with houses in greater demand than flats.
Rental values in the UK have now grown consistently since 2009 as the problem of unaffordable mortgage finance and large deposits required by lenders remain a barrier to home ownership, with many potential buyers forced to turn to the rental market.
Significantly, supply of property to the market continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace, with seven percent more surveyors reporting increases rather than decreases in landlords looking to let their properties.
Unsurprisingly, with rental values steadily increasing, landlords' gross yields also continued to grow during the early part of the year, although the pace of growth has begun to slow. This was the case in every part of the UK with the exception of London where tenant demand also saw a slight downturn.
Looking ahead, surveyors remain positive that the market will remain buoyant over the next three months, with 13 per cent more predicting rents will rise rather than fall. Across the UK , all areas expect rents to continue to increase with the exception of Scotland where expectations entered negative territory for the first time since October 2009.
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