Rent rise warning as Sheffield property boom continues

New research says that UK rental prices have increased by 10.6% since 2015. It comes as figures show Sheffield had one of the top 10 largest increases in annual rental demand at 9.2%.

With a rise in UK house prices and a record-breaking number of aspiring homeowners registering with estate agencies, the rental market remains busy as ever, according to research analysed by LandlordBuyers.com.

Jason Harris-Cohen, managing director of Landlordbuyers.com said Yorkshire was one of the most affordable areas due to lower property prices, but warned this could change.

He said: “According to Rightmove, overall, sold prices in Yorkshire over the last year were 12% up on the previous year and 17% up on the 2018 peak of £192,538.

"Therefore, I would expect this affordability to decrease if we continue to see rising prices in this region.”

He added: “Rental prices will always rise where there are more tenants than available properties and in our experience, the UK rental market is continuing to see strong demand at present.

"Despite a pandemic, moving activity in the UK rental market has remained buoyant – and perhaps you could say rental demand is at such high levels because of the pandemic, with people moving for re-evaluated lifestyles and working practices.

"The statistics suggest that even as a semblance of normal life resumes, we will keep the same pace in the private rental sector. We expect rents to keep rising, although incrementally, and voids to stay low.”

His comments came as the latest rental demand index by Barrows and Forrester showed that across 23 major UK cities, rental demand averaged 42.9% during the third quarter of this year, a 9.9% increase on the previous quarter and 6.8% higher than this time last year.

These figures show Sheffield is in the top 10 where an annual change in tenant demand is concerned. The city’s figure of 9.2% compares to Newcastle at 11.7%, and Bournemouth at 11.1%.

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, said: “There have been numerous indicators of late that the UK rental market is starting to once again find its feet after one of the most difficult periods in recent times.

“The demand for city rental homes, in particular, was heavily impacted during the pandemic and as a result, many landlords were forced to stomach a significant decrease in rental income in order to secure a tenant.

“However, this is starting to change and we’re seeing a notable uplift in demand for rental properties across many of the nation’s major cities.

“We expect to see a further boost over the coming months as many tenants look to secure a property ahead of the new year and a fresh start.”

To read the private rental affordability infographic visit www.landlordbuyers.com/2021-rental-prices

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