Monthly rents have tumbled from an average of £937 in May 2008 to an average of £810 in May 2009, as the rental market has become saturated with ‘accidental landlord’ properties. Accidental or reluctant landlords are homeowners who have been forced to rent their properties because either they cannot afford to pay the mortgage and/or are unable to sell their properties.
However, according to EasyRoommate.com figures, the number of new rental properties coming onto the market in May (34,088) has fallen by almost a half (46%) compared to April (62,765), when new rental properties topped 60,000 for the first time in more than 18 months.
The latest figures from EasyRoommate.com also revealed that while whole property rents have been falling across the UK, average room rents have bucked the downward trend and remained surprisingly resilient to the vagaries of the faltering economy. Average room rates have actually increased by 8.1% since the beginning of the year, rising from £370 to £400 per month.
Jonathan Moore, UK & Ireland country manager, EasyRoommate.com, comments: “The rental market has suffered badly from the influx of accidental landlords pushing down rental values. However, we would expect average rents to recover in the second half of the year as activity in the residential property market starts to pick up and many homeowners, who were forced to rent their properties, start looking towards selling them on. The latest figures suggest this is already happening as reluctant landlords leave the market and rental property numbers return to normal levels.”
