05/06/2009 - Domestic rents continue to fall
Domestic rents fell by 0.4% in April, reducing the average to £635 during the month, 6% cheaper than last year, according to letting agent Your Move.
Rents in the North East and East were pushed up as seasonal summer workers such as fruit pickers meant an increased demand for rented accommodation. In the North West, rents fell by 7.9% to just £467, the lowest in England.
Your Move says that while tenants are still in a strong position to negotiate rents, their situation is not as good as six months ago at the bottom of the housing-market slump.
It says that people who signed leases in April saved an average of £1,050 a year compared with those in July last year, when rents peaked at £723.
Meanwhile, the number of tenants fell by 1.2% as first-time buyers got on the housing ladder, while people previously renting out their properties after being unable to sell them put their homes back on the market.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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