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Goodlord Rental Index
Goodlord Rental IndexOctober 2024
Monthly key figures for the private rented sector

Welcome to Goodlord's October 2024 Rental Index.

Toby Burgess-Smith

Every month, Goodlord reveals key figures for the private rented sector based on tenancies processed through our platform, including average rents, voidage periods, and more.

The latest Rental Index from Goodlord has found that rents signicantly cooled in October, with monthly rents down by over 12% and year-on-year increases narrowing to an annual low. Voids also lengthened - an additional sign that the intense pressure the market faced between July and September has materially eased.

Toby Burgess-Smith
Data Analyst, Goodlord

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1. Year-on-year rent rises keep shrinking

Compared to the 7%+ year-on-year rent rises recorded on several occasions throughout 2024, October saw rents rise by just 4% compared to the same time last year.

This month, the average rent for a property in England was £1,238. This compares to £1,190 in October 2023.

In Greater London, the year-on-year increase in rents was just 2% in October. The highest was recorded in the West Midlands, where year-on-year rents rose by nearly 6%.

Click on region names to toggle them on and off
Click on region names to toggle them on and off

Average monthly rent across UK regions since January 2020.

2. Month-on-month rents drop 12%

There was a sharp month-on-month drop in rent compared to September. Prices fell from £1,417 in September to £1,238 in October - a drop of 12.6% (or £179). All regions monitored saw rents fall.

The notable decrease follows an intense period between July and September when escalating rents surpassed the £1,400 barrier for three consecutive months.

The biggest decrease in rents during October came in the South West, where prices dropped by a huge 24%. This was followed by rent reductions of 16% in the South East and 11% in Greater London.

3. Voids lengthen as demand eases

As the scramble for properties cooled, the impact was also seen on void periods (the length of time a property sits vacant between tenancies). Average void periods lengthened from 15 days in September to 19 days in October - an increase of 27%.

This takes void averages back to their pre-summer levels. Voids last hit 19 days in April 2024 before shortening to their year-to-date low of 11 days in July.

In October 2023, void periods were 18 days, meaning there has been negligible year-on-year change for voids.

Average void periods in days across UK regions since January 2020.

3. Tenant salaries see uplift

Average tenant salaries rose by 0.8% this month, increasing from £29,637 in July to £29,883 in August.

The age of tenants dipped slightly, taking the average down to 32. The last time the average age was this low was August 2021, reflecting the number of student renters signing tenancies in the summer months.

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4. Tenants sees salary boost

In good news for tenants, reducing rents came alongside increased salaries. The average salary of renters signing tenancies in October rose by 1.7% - from £37,350 to £37,997.

Year-on-year, this means salaries have risen by 5.15% - a figure which outstrips year-on-year rent rises for the second month in a row.

William Reeve, CEO of Goodlord, says:

“If you read between the lines of last month’s figures, there were signs that a market softening was coming down the track - the latest Index bears this theory out. October tenancies brought decreased rents and a squeezing of the year-on-year rises, while salary figures were up modestly. These numbers will be welcomed by tenants, who were being pushed to the very edges of their affordability limits over the summer. At the same time, this data indicates that we are ushering in a more manageable period for landlords and agents. They have been working extremely hard to keep pace with market demand, whilst also grappling with a huge raft of regulatory changes coming down the track.”