Taylor Scott International News
Residential rents in Scotland have fallen month on month for the first time since the start of the year with a 0.5% drop in August, according to the latest buy to let index. This means the average monthly rent in Scotland has dropped £3 from its summer peak of £549 in July to stand at £546 in August 2015, the data from Your Move, one of Scotland’s largest lettings agent networks, shows. Rent growth has also seen an about turn on an annual basis. After an acceleration of annual rent rises throughout the first half of 2015, Scottish rents are now just 1.7% higher than a year ago, marking a downturn since July, when the annual change stood at 2.8%. Brian Moran, lettings director at Your Move Scotland, explained that rents have retreated back from record levels, after an acceleration of rent rises in 2015. ‘This should provide a welcome let up for tenants, after only last month rents hit a new record level. This adjustment has also broken up the forward march of annual rent growth that’s been gathering speed recently,’ he said. ‘But peak lettings season is only around the corner, and this breather may not last for long. The vast discrepancy between demand and supply of available homes to let has not disappeared and this gap will only widen if landlords are scared out of the market by the government’s proposed regulatory changes and draconian rent controls,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures shows that rents are higher than a year ago across four of the five regions of Scotland. The Highlands and Islands continue to show the strongest annual rent rise, up from 5.4% in the year to July 2015 to 6% as of August. As a result, rents in this region have risen £32 over the past 12 months to a new record of £570 per month. Average monthly rents in the South have increased at the second fastest rate over the past year, jumping 4.5% since August 2014. Compared to a year ago, rents in Edinburgh and the Lothians and the East of Scotland have risen a milder 2.6% and 2.5% respectively. Meanwhile, Glasgow and Clyde was the only region to experience a year on year drop in rents in August. Average rents are now 3.6% lower than in August 2014, equivalent to £21 cheaper. On a monthly basis, there has been a more widespread slowdown. Average monthly rents have fallen in three out of the five regions of Scotland in August, up from only one region last month. The biggest monthly drop was in Glasgow and Clyde, where average rents have fallen 1.3% since July. The typical rent in Glasgow now stands at £554 per month, and has fallen considerably from its peak of £575. In the East of Scotland, the typical monthly rent is now… Taylor Scott International
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