Rising demand from frustrated buyers pushes rents up

Published on Sunday 17 April 2011 22:03

The cost of renting a home in Scotland has soared this year as restricted lending conditions continue to thwart home ownership ambitions.

Monthly rental prices reached a record high of 907 in Aberdeen in the first three months of 2011, according to new figures from lettings website Citylets.

Its latest Scottish Private Rented Sector report also reveals that Edinburgh rents were up 3.5 per cent to 766 in the first quarter. The average two bedroom home in the capital now costs 694 a month to rent, up 4.5 per cent from a year ago, due largely to demand from frustrated would-be buyers. One in six two bedroom homes in Edinburgh are let out within a week of being made available and half are filled within a month.

The cost of renting a four bedroom home in Edinburgh has jumped 5.4 per cent to an average of 1,418, reflecting burgeoning demand from families who have sold their homes and are continuing to rent rather than buy a new property.

Dan Cookson, market analyst at Citylets, said: "Precisely a quarter of four-bed Edinburgh properties are snapped up within a week of being advertised and 61 per cent are let within a month.

"This supports feedback from agents that demand from families looking to rent continues to grow."

The Grange area of Edinburgh is now the most expensive place in which to rent a two-bedroom flat in Scotland, at an average of 1,005 a month, taking over from the West End area of Aberdeen.

But the granite city remains the costliest place in Scotland for renting, with the average property hitting 907 a month, following a 5.7 per cent leap in prices over the past 12 months.

The average two bedroom flat in Aberdeen cost 851 a month to rent in the first quarter, up 6.9 per cent from the same period last year.

Rental prices have fallen in Glasgow, however. The average rent for two bedroom properties fell 1.5 per cent to 595 in the first three months of the year.