Residential rents in Scotland increased or remained the same across the country between October and November 2016 taking the average to £569 per month, the latest Your Move Scotland index has shown.
Edinburgh and the Lothians have the most expensive with the capital city seeing annual growth of 4.9%, the biggest growth in the country according to the data.
The index report also shows that yields and tenant finances have also remained steady. Indeed typical yields of 5% are above the 4.7% average for England and Wales.
In Edinburgh the average rent reached and average of £645 per calendar month with the next most expensive in Glasgow and Clyde at £577 a month and Highlands and Islands at £576.
However, rents are not rising at an equal pace. Rents in the Glasgow and Clyde area are up by 0.9% year on year while those in the Highlands and Islands region dropped by 7.8%. Rents in the South of Scotland were down 1.1% year on year to £544 but increased by 0.6% growth between October and November.
Overall, the East of Scotland remains the cheapest place to rent a property in the country, although prices in this region did rise month on month and year on year on year by 0.2% and 0.8% respectively.
Yields levelled off in November after falling in the previous month and were typically 5%. It means that landlords in Scotland continue to see much better returns than their counterparts in England and Wales where the average yield in October stood at 4.7%. Only properties in the North East and North West regions of England saw better returns at 5.3% and 5.1% respectively.
Across all of Scotland some 10.8% of all tenancies had arrears of a day or more in November 2016. While this was higher than the 7.9% figure recorded in the previous month it remains well below September’s 12.5% total and the long term trend.
However, Scotland’s arrears rate for November were above the 8.3% recorded in England and Wales. On an absolute basis, the number of Scottish households in serious arrears, defined as two months or more, was 9,753 in October 2016.
Brian Moran, lettings director of Your Move Scotland, pointed out that Edinburgh and the Lothians saw rents rise faster than anywhere else in Scotland and this level of rent growth is comparable with the top performing regions in England, which may tempt more investors to head north of the border.
"Landlords and tenants will both be happy to see overall tenant finances improve and this shows the Scottish rental market is in a stable position at present. Yields remain strong and above the level seen in most of England and Wales despite concerns about the wider economy," he added.
