Rent rises below inflation, even in cities

Independent research from Scottish lettings website Citylets claims rents of larger properties have risen below inflation even in Scottish cities over the last seven years.

Selecting the first quarter of 2008 as the starting point, the research shows that no city has witnessed rents for larger properties rising above inflation up to the end of the third quarter of this year; only Aberdeen recorded above inflation rises over the same period, and that applied only to one and two bedroom units.

While it's clear that rents have been rising in major cities in recent times, it should be seen in context that this is a market which has long unperformed inflation says Thomas Ashdown, Citylets managing director.

The market is a patchwork quilt of local markets and the current trend is a fairly recent change. Indeed, Aberdeen has already showed first signs of cooling off with a recorded fall in average rents between the second and third quarters of 2014 he says.

Citylets is the one agency that has so far persuaded Agents' Mutual to break its one other portal' rule.

Scottish letting agents will be able to list on Citylets plus Agents' Mutual's OnTheMarket and one other competing portal - for example, either Rightmove, or Zoopla or another Scottish portal, such as the well known LettingWeb.