Rents and tenancies both up says Sequence

Average rents across the country are now £762 per month, up by one per cent on last month and now eight per cent higher than a year ago according to Sequence.

The company, which has 300 branches in its network including Barnard Marcus, William H Brown and Fox & Sons, says the number of new tenancies agreed has risen by 20 per cent over the past year.

London is, predictably, an exception to the rule: here rents have risen only four per cent annually and now average £1,427 per month. The number of new tenancies across the capital has risen a striking 37 per cent in the past year.

This proves that a strong sales market does not impinge on the strength of the rental market. Rents are up across the UK with new tenant applications rising 21 per cent in March alone. The number of new rental properties has failed to keep up with demand, remaining flat on the month, which is why we have seen a growth in rents says Sequence's head of lettings, Stephen Nation.

Buy to let mortgage applications have risen by three per cent annually which is the sharpest growth across all of our mortgage products, highlighting that BTL remains the investment of choice he says.