No sign of rents letting up in 2014

House purchaser numbers may be on the increase yet this is unlikely to damage significantly the rental market in 2014.

Help to Buy mortgages are ensuring greater movement among first time buyers but the rental market should remain intact.

Sequence's latest index last week revealed that national monthly rents in the UK increased 8% annually in December to £763 - despite a seasonal dip of 2% month on month. Looking more closely at the numbers reveals the strength of the market with the number of new tenancies agreed up 13% annually.
 
For once London is not setting the trend with average rents increasing annually by just 3% to £1417 and the number of new tenancies up 11% annually, slightly less than the UK average.

Sequence said it expected the number of rental transactions to continue in 2014 and pointed out that the first two weeks of the year had seen a 6.5% increase month on month in new properties available to rent.

Rental prices have also been rising. The average asking rent peaked at £986 per month in November 2013 at a time when rents typically dip due to the beginning of the festive season, according to the latest Move with Us index.