Average monthly rents are performing strongly across the country on an annual basis, although comparative figures in the capital dropped for the third consecutive month.

The latest rental index from HomeLet suggests that the average UK rent reached £965 last month, up from £959 in July 2019.

This marks annual growth of 0.6%, a figure which rises to 1.8% if London is excluded.

In London, the average rent was £1,611 last month, up from £1,583 in June, but 3.2% lower than the £1,665 recorded in July last year.

This is the capital’s third decrease in annual variance in as many months and marks the biggest annual fall recorded since June 2015.

On an annual basis, the top performing region was the North West, recording a 6.5% increase as the annual rent reached £773.

Other strong performers annually included Yorkshire & Humberside (+4.5%), the South West (+2.5%) and Scotland (+1.9%).

On a monthly basis, the average UK rent increased by 1.5% between June and July. Monthly growth was recorded in all areas except Scotland where the figure stayed the same.

The strongest monthly performers were Northern Ireland and the South West with respective rises of 2.3% and 2.1%.

“July appeared to be yet another encouraging month for lettings – although the data does indicate a downward trend emerging for those in the South East and Greater London,” says Martin Totty, HomeLet’s chief executive.

“Demand for new tenancies is still strong, HomeLet received the same volume of property applications for tenant reference checks this month as the same month last year.”

“That coupled with the steadily increasing rents is positive for the sector, but there’s naturally caution around what could happen over the coming months,” says Totty.

“It’ll be interesting to see what trends emerge, especially on the regional level and how these variations will affect both landlords and tenants across the country over the coming months.”

You can see the full rental index here.