THE private rental sector is delivering higher returns on investment for landlords in Scotland than their counterparts south of the Border, results show.
The latest buy-to-let index from Your Move shows yield levels in April were higher than the same point in 2016, with a typical property now commanding a rate of £574 per month.
This follows a jump of almost two per cent since March and marks a six per cent increase on this time last year.
The average property now delivers a five per cent yield, higher than in England and Wales, where the figure was 4.4 per cent.
Revealed today, the figures illustrate the sector’s strength following years of growth. While five per cent of Scottish households were in privately rented accommodation in 1999, the proportion now stands at around 14 per cent, according to Holyrood data.
At the same time, the level of social rented homes has dropped, as has the number of owner-occupiers.
In Edinburgh, where costs are traditionally high, the average rent is now £655 per month, with costs in Fife now also reaching this level.
Families requiring three and four bedroom properties are said to be fuelling this increase in demand, with family properties also sought-after in Inverness, where average monthly payments are now £596.
The strongest growth has come in the South of Scotland region, with a 7.1 per cent hike in the year to April driving charges up to £564.
Glasgow and Clyde is the only region to have seen rents fall on 2016 levels, dropping 1.2 per cent to £570.
Meanwhile, 11.3 per cent of tenancies across the country had arrears of one day or more during April, a slight increase on February and March and a suggestion that “tenant finances have deteriorated slightly”, according to the index.
Brian Moran, lettings director of Your Move Scotland, said: “Demand continues to outstrip supply in Edinburgh, with this driving the price increases in all areas of the capital. The wider Lothians area remains very popular and any property with an EH postcode is in very high demand. Prices here continue to outstrip the rest of Scotland by some margin.”
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