AVERAGE rental prices have grown faster in Scotland than in London during the last 12 months, new figures show.
The cost of renting a property has increased by 0.9 per cent to £671-a-month for new tenants in Scotland since November 2015, while existing tenants renewing their lease have seen their rent shoot up by 6.1 per cent year-on-year to £598.
Meanwhile in central London, new tenants and existing tenants have seen their monthly rent rise by 0.8 and 1.6 per cent respectively.
It is the first time since 2010 that rents outside the London have risen faster than the capital, with only Wales and the South-East of England also recording a fall in average rental costs.
Nonetheless, renting in London still costs 60 per cent more than the average for the rest of Britain, with new tenants currently forking out £2,383 a month on average while existing tenants were paying £2,417 in November this year.
The statistics have been compiled by estate agent Countrywide.
Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide, said: “Higher than usual numbers of homes available to rent has boosted tenants’ negotiating power. Stock growth has outstripped that of tenants. This is in part due to the hangover from the rush to beat the 3 per cent stamp duty charge earlier in the year and a shift in stock from the sales market. With more choice and facing stretched affordability, many tenants are using their new found negotiating power to agree lower rents than in 2015.”
It comes as the total value of the UK's privately-owned homes hit a record £5.5 trillion, according to estimates by the Halifax.
The 51 per cent increase in the value of housing stock over the past decade compares to 33 per cent for the retail price index measure of inflation.
The average value per household is £241,682, up from £173,837 in 2006.
The increase in the total value of housing stock has been driven both by a surge in house prices generally and a rise in the number of privately-owned homes, Halifax said.
Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, said: "Housing equity has grown by £1.6 trillion since 2006. For almost one in three home owners - who own their home with no outstanding mortgage debt - their financial position is even stronger."
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