The prime rental hotspots where a month’s rent costs a year’s salary

The latest insight from London lettings and estate agent,
Benham and Reeves, has revealed that one in five rental properties across Britain command an average rent equal to that of the average monthly income, however, some properties require an entire year’s income, or more, to rent for a single month.

Benham and Reeves analysed current rental market stock* looking at asking rents and how these compare to the earnings of the average person.

The research shows that the average person in Britain takes home £35,481 per year – equating to £2,957 per month.

The analysis of current rental market stock conducted by Benham and Reeves found that more than one in five rental properties (22%) are currently listed with a monthly asking rent at, or above, that of the average monthly earnings of £2,957.

Almost half (47%) of London rental properties commanded an asking rent in excess of the average monthly British income, whilst the East Midlands proved to be the most affordable where just 2.5% of asking rents exceeded this benchmark of monthly income.

Believe it or not, there are some rental properties that command an average monthly asking rent at, or above, the £35,000 threshold of the average annual income in Britain.

Granted, they only account for 0.3% of all current rental listings, but this still amounts to no less than 289 properties currently up for rent.

These super prime lets are almost exclusively located in London, with the capital accounting for 96% of them, although there are a few scattered across the South East (2.4%), North West (1%) and South West (0.3%).

When it comes to London’s super prime rental market, these very top end rental properties are located across just 11 boroughs.

Westminster is home to the highest volume of London’s super prime lets at 160, with these properties accounting for 3.3% of all Westminster rental listings.

Kensington and Chelsea sits second at 80, with other boroughs home to super prime rental listings including, Camden (14), Barnet (13), Brent (3) and Hounslow (2), whilst the City of London, Haringey, Islington and Southwark also boast one super prime let each.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“Rents have soared in recent times and our research demonstrates just how tough it is for the average person, with one in five rental properties commanding asking rents that require an entire month’s income or more.

Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight when it comes to the rental crisis and this is largely due to the fact that we simply don’t have an adequate level of stock to meet demand – an issue our new Labour government seems set on exacerbating.

As a result, we’re seeing properties let at pace, often before they’ve even reached the market, with numerous tenants all fighting it out for a single property, which, of course, drives prices ever higher.

If we don’t incentivise landlords to invest into the buy-to-let sector in order to address the imbalance of supply and demand then who knows, we might all be looking at a monthly rent of thirty odd thousand pounds a month before too long.”