Rents in London’s commuter belt rising four times faster than UK Average

Article from Yahoo Finance, August 3rd 2017

Rents in London’s commuter belt areas have seen a surge over the past year as tenants search for value outside the capital, according to an index.

Residential rents in the East of England region, which includes Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk, increased by 2.35% in the 12 months to July – the fastest rise of any UK region.

It was also nearly four times the average UK growth rate of 0.64%, according to the rental index from specialist buy-to-let mortgage lender Landbay.

The current pace of growth means a tenant in Luton, for example, faces paying £789 on average a month in rent, compared with £757 a year ago – an extra £384 over the year, the study found.

John Goodall, chief executive and founder of Landbay, said: “Young people working in London are wrestling with rising inflation on the one hand, and rock-bottom interest rates on the other, so it’s hardly a surprise that people are tackling longer commutes to reduce their rent burden while they save for a deposit on a house of their own.

“Naturally, these surrounding areas are starting to experience a surge in rental prices, creating a ripple effect out from the capital.”
The index, compiled by analysts MIAC, is based on data from Zoopla and analyses around 100,000 properties each month.

Here are the year-on-year changes in rents across the UK, according to Landbay’s index:
:: England, 0.58%
:: Scotland, 1.23%
:: Wales, 1.34%
:: Northern Ireland, 0.18%

 

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/rents-london-apos-commuter-belt-111502884.html