English home rental prices surge 9% in a year to hit record high

English home rental prices surge 9% in a year to hit record high

Jun 22, 2022

BLOOMBERG - THE cost of renting a home in England hit a fresh record in the year through March, heaping more pain on Brits suffering under a historic squeeze on living standards and threatening to make it even harder for first-time buyers to get on the housing ladder.

The median monthly rent climbed to £795 (S$1,352), up nearly 9 per cent from a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday (Jun 22). In London, the reading was almost double that at £1,450.

The figures come as Brits also face higher energy, food, tax and fuel bills, squeezing disposable incomes and threatening economic growth. Data earlier Wednesday showed headline inflation reached 9.1 per cent last month, the highest since 1982.

The surge in rental prices also stands alongside a property market boom in the UK since the pandemic, which has driven the cost of buying to a record high.

Both will make the job of saving for a deposit even harder for those hoping to purchase their own home in a country where the average home now costs 7 times the average wage.

The median price of renting a three-bedroom property in Kensington & Chelsea, the priciest district in the UK, is more than £4,000 a month while a 2-bed home in the City of London is almost £2,300.