Goodlord: Average cost to rent remained stable in February

The average cost to rent declined month-by-month by just £3 in February to £872, according to the latest rental index from Goodlord.

Goodlord: Average cost to rent remained stable in February

The average cost to rent declined month-by-month by just £3 in February to £872, according to the latest rental index from Goodlord.

The South East, South West and West Midlands all saw the average cost of rent increase slightly.

The East Midlands, Greater London, North East, and North West all saw slight decreases of between 1% and 2%.

Looking to void periods, all regions bar one across England noted a drop.

The West Midlands saw the biggest fall, with voids dropping from 26 days in January to 14 days in February.

The region has not seen voids at this level since March 2020, according to the data.

Elsewhere, the North East saw voids decrease by nine days on average, and Greater London saw a drop from 25 days to 20 days.

The only region to see voids increase was the North West, where rates rose from 23 days to 28 days on average.

Across England as whole, the average void period is now 21 days, down from January’s 24 days.

Furthermore, the average income of a tenant in England dipped in February, falling by 3.6% from £24,875 to £23,983.

The average across the last 12 months is £24,344.

Tom Mundy, chief operating officer of Goodlord, said: “It’s been another strong month for the lettings sector and the drop in void averages is a strong indicator for more positive months to come.

“Despite much attention being trained on the sales market, the underlying strength of the lettings market over the past year should not be overlooked.

“With the roadmap now in place and the weather improving, steady rents and declining voids show consistent demand across the majority of England which will only grow as we head into summer.”