Newbury estate agents comment on Rightmove's claim that the town has had the highest increase in renting prices in Great Britain over the past year

Newbury has had the highest increase in renting prices in Great Britain over the past year, according to a new study.

But some local letting agents have claimed that the results of the study aren’t indicative of the true nature of Newbury’s current rental market.

The town topped the list of online property marketplace Rightmove’s list of rental price hotspots – with a 22.2 per cent increase in the average rental price since 2021.

According to Rightmove’s data, the average asking rent per month this time last year was £1,003, but it has now risen to £1,226.

The study, which was titled ‘The Rightmove Rental Trends Tracker’, stated that the pace of asking rent growth nationwide is primarily down to the severe shortage of available rental properties combined with extremely high demand.

The dataset for the study was compiled from the asking rents of properties coming onto the market on Rightmove.

Director at Downer & Co Lee Fenn-Tripp said: “I would eat my hat if Newbury has seen the biggest rise.”

He said that a three bed semi-detached property would cost around £1,100 to £1,150 per month last year, and this year it would cost around £1,200 to £1,250.

Mr Fenn-Tripp continued: “The average asking rent, is it up by 22 per cent? Possibly.

“But is that indicative of what tenants are paying today, I would probably say no.

“Are they up by 10, 12, possibly 15 per cent? Yes.”

He believed that Newbury is on par with the rest of the South East when it came to rental price increases, and also stated that the “over-inflated pricing strategy on a certain development in Newbury” could be contributing to the average asking price rise.

The development he was referring to is Weavers Yard, the new build to rent complex located at the site of the old bus station.

Hamptons is the estate agent responsible for letting most of the rental properties in Weavers Yard, having let 34 of the 36 flats that are currently occupied.

Head of lettings at Hamptons Newbury, Oliver Neale, said he was sure that Weavers Yard properties had driven up the average asking rent price in the area, but the “urban village” nature of the development offered a lot more to prospective tenants.

Two bedroom properties in the development are listed for around £1,500 per month, and have Wi-Fi, use of communal co-working spaces, and access to an onsite concierge team included in the price.

Mr Neale believed the Rightmove data did back up what he had been seeing in Newbury in the past year.

He said: “We’ve certainly seen an increase in rent prices this year. Last year we saw more of an increase, but they have stabled somewhat since the urgency of post-pandemic. For us, anything family-orientated is just ridiculously popular at the moment.”

He claimed that a lot of wealthy families living in London are looking to re-locate to Newbury because of its rural nature, transport links, independent schools, and proximity to London, and they are seeking properties with three or more bedrooms in more rural areas

Mr Neale said that at one time, six or seven families with children all at the same school were fighting over the same large, rural, family-orientated property.

However, he also explained that the prices for smaller one to two bedroom flats hadn’t really changed, although their price range was very wide, ranging from £750 to £1,850 per month.

He said: “For the bottom end in the market, it is still very normal with normal prices.

“For me, it’s anything that’s a little bit special, anything a little bit unique, and anything appealing to the families that are looking to re-locate for the independent schools; anything that hits those boxes is being received extremely well and this is pushing the prices up and over the asking price.”

Owner of Belvoir Newbury Tim Hughes said he was “deeply cynical” about the data and that he didn’t believe they were particularly representative of the current market.

He suggested that the listing of Weavers Yard properties could have increased the average asking price over the past year, and he was doubtful that the flats were being filled at the asking price.

However, he also said: “There are definitely fewer rental properties available. There has been a good number of private landlords selling up, and the number of renters hasn’t really decreased.”

Mr Hughes claimed that three to four bedroom houses had seen the most growth over the past year, while rent prices for one to two bedroom flats hadn’t really changed.

Parkers letting manager Simon West believed that the main driving factor for the rental price increase was demand and supply.

Parkers have registered triple the amount of applicants for rental properties when compared to last year, and this hasn’t married up with the properties that have come on the market.

Mr West said: “It’s a good time to be a landlord from a rental point-of-view, but it’s tough out there for tenants.”

He believed Newbury was a prime spot for Londoners who wished to move out of the city because of its transport links, proximity to the capital and numerous business parks.

Mr West concurred with the opinions of other estate agents that it was houses that were seeing an increase in prices, not flats.

He suggested that this could be an aftermath of the lockdown, with tenants now seeing a bigger value in having an outside space as part of their property.

Mr West backed the data findings, stating that Righmove is “the biggest housing portal used in the UK, and they’re not one to get their figures wrong”.

Do you rent in the town? What do you think? Email Cameron Blackshaw on cameron.blackshaw@newburynews.co.uk