Average asking rents hit an annual growth of 9.9% in Q4 2021, reaching £1,068 per calendar month (pcm) outside of London, the highest annual jump on record, according to the Rightmove Quarterly Rental Trends Tracker.
Wales (12.7%), the North West (12.5%) and the South West (11%) were at the forefront in annual asking rent growth, while London hit record annual growth of 10.9%, with asking rents in the capital reaching 3% higher than before the pandemic started.
Pontypool in Monmouthshire, Wales saw the largest annual increase in asking rent of any local area, rising 20% from £562 pcm to £674 pcm, followed by Ascot (18.8%), and Littlehampton (17.5%).
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Inner London rents rose at a record 16.2%, recovering from a drop of 14% at the beginning of 2021 and getting just ahead of pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
The imbalance between high tenant demand and low rental stock led to competition for rental properties nearly doubling (94%) compared to the same period last year.
Total rental demand was up by 32% compared to…
