London and the North West have led an improvement in rental affordability, even as regional rent trends remain mixed across the UK, according to Propertymark's latest rental price and average salary tracker.
London saw the greatest improvement in affordability, with the representative annual salary needed to secure the average-priced rental home falling from £86,250 to £71,550, a drop of 17% year-on-year, despite average rents increasing from £2,307 to £2,385, up 3.4% month-on-month.
The North West also recorded a substantial improvement, with the typical salary required falling from £40,350 to £33,300, down 17.5% year-on-year, while average rents continued to rise from £1,087 to £1,110, up 2.1% month-on-month.
Scotland experienced the largest monthly rental decline among the reported regions, with average rents falling from £1,257 to £1,186, a drop of 5.7% month-on-month, while the salary required remained broadly stable, edging up from £35,220 to £35,580.
Regional rental trends remain mixed. London, the North West and the South East all recorded monthly rent increases of 3.4%, 2.1% and 1.7% respectively, while Scotland, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside saw rents fall by 5.7%, 0.4% and 1% respectively.
Across the wider dataset, the salary needed to secure a rental home fell in most regions compared with a year ago. Yorkshire and Humberside saw a 14.5% drop to £28,980, while the South East fell 8.3% to £45,390.
Scotland was the exception, with the required salary rising slightly by 1% to £35,580, and Wales, the East Midlands, the East of England, the North East, the South West and the West Midlands all posted smaller declines ranging from 0.7% to 4.1%.
Kim Lidbury, president of ARLA Propertymark, said the figures reflect a rental market moving at different speeds depending on location. "The latest figures demonstrate that rental markets continue to move at different speeds across the UK," she said.
"While rents continue to rise in areas such as London, the North West and the South East, other regions are experiencing more stable pricing or modest declines."
"Encouragingly, the typical salary needed to secure a rental property has fallen across most regions compared with a year ago, with London and the North West seeing particularly notable improvements," she explained.
"However, affordability pressures remain significant as rents continue to sit well above historic levels and demand for quality rental homes continues to outstrip supply."
"The long-term solution remains increasing the supply of privately rented homes," she said. "Greater investment and policies that support landlords will be essential to improving choice for tenants and helping to moderate rental costs over time."
The mixed picture across regions highlights the continued divergence in the UK's rental market, with landlords and investors likely to see very different conditions depending on location, even as affordability pressures ease in some of the country's most expensive areas.
