Scottish Rents Fall Following Pressure on the Central Belt

Scottish Rents Fall Following Pressure on the Central Belt

Scottish rents fell in the last three months of 2016 following pressure on the central belt, according to new data from Citylets.

Figures from the letting agent portal show that Scottish rents dropped by an average of 0.9% on the same period of the previous year, to stand at £739 per month.

The Managing Director of Citylets, Thomas Ashdown, said that downward pressure on Scottish rents from Aberdeen over the past two years has typically been countered by around 6% increases in Edinburgh and, more recently, the central belt – including West Lothian and Glasgow – resulting in overall positive growth.

However, a slight drop in the rate of growth in some markets on the central belt has pushed annual national growth in Scottish rents into the red, reports Citylets.

The pace of the Scottish rental market remained virtually unchanged last year, with 61% of all properties let within a month. The average time to let a property was 31 days in 2016.

Ashdown comments: “In 2017, the private rented sector is now of unprecedented importance in Scotland’s housing mix and, overall, we see continued positive growth in major urban areas, with the exception of Aberdeen.

“However, the figures suggest that the rate of decline for Aberdeen has stabilised at the reduced level of around -15% and, indeed, the time to let has also levelled out. This all indicates that rents in the city could start to level off and the worst of the boom/bust cycle is coming to an end.”

Landlords, have you been forced to put your Scottish rents down over the past 12 months?

Although rents in England are still rising, recent research insists that prices are not increasing faster than wages in the private rental sector.

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