Half of first-time buyers paying more for mortgage than they did for rent

Annual rental growth in September 2026

Region	New lets		All tenants
	Average monthly rent	YoY change %	Average monthly rent	YoY change %
Greater London	£2,357	1.5%	£2,147	0.5%
Inner London	£2,812	2.5%	£2,622	-0.5%
Outer London	£2,023	0.4%	£1,797	1.6%
South	£1,419	3.7%	£1,240	2.4%
East of England	£1,294	1.6%	£1,195	3.1%
South East	£1,544	4.6%	£1,332	2.1%
South West	£1,353	4.1%	£1,144	2.3%
Midlands	£1,080	2.1%	£932	2.5%
East Midlands	£1,017	0.3%	£885	2.1%
West Midlands	£1,136	3.5%	£973	2.8%
North	£1,030	3.6%	£867	3.2%
North East	£948	3.1%	£776	3.0%
North West	£1,090	3.6%	£896	3.7%
Yorkshire and the Humber	£985	3.8%	£869	2.6%
Wales	£888	2.5%	£815	2.2%
Scotland	£1,099	1.9%	£858	3.1%
Great Britain (GB)	£1,433	2.7%	£1,261	1.9%
GB (Ex London)	£1,196	3.3%	£1,035	2.6%

Source: Hamptons using Connells Group data