Private sector rents and rates of return, 1996/97 to 2000/01

1 Key findings Private sector rents across England 1996/97 – 2000/01 • In 2000/01, the average rent of furnished property was £91.94 and that of furnished property was £79.78. • Through the observation period, the national averages of both furnished and unfurnished property rents continuously increased. • By region, in 2000/01, the highest furnished property rent and unfurnished property rent were both witnessed in London (£152.39 and £134.90 respectively), while the lowest rents were both observed in North East (£64.40 and £59.02 respectively). • Compared with 1996/97, the unfurnished property rents rose in all nine regions in 2000/01. The furnished property rents increased in all regions but North West, which saw a decrease of £1. • The distribution range of weekly average rents among the local authorities of English had widened dominantly upwards for the observation period. • Of ten local authorities with the highest weekly average rents in 2000/01, all of them were in London for furnished property case. For unfurnished property case, eight were in London and the remaining two in South East. • Of ten local authorities with the lowest weekly average rents, six were in East Midlands, three in North East and the remaining one in Yorkshire and the Humber for furnished property case. For unfurnished property case, seven were in North East, two in East Midlands, and the remaining one in North West. • Of ten local authorities with the fastest increases in weekly average rents from 1996/97 to 2000/01, seven were in South East, two in London, and the reaming one in East for furnished property case. For unfurnished property case, three each were in South East and East Midlands and two each in East and London. • Between 1996/97 and 2000/01, 25 local authorities saw decreases in furnished property rent-13 were from North West and 4 from West Midlands. Of ten local authorities dropping unfurnished property rents, nine were in North West and the remaining one in South East. • For furnished properties, in 2000/01, the weekly average rent of the rural area was £76.22 and that of urban area was £94.85. Through the observation period, the weekly average rent of the rural area continuously increased. Except in 1996/98, the equivalent for the urban area also increased. • For unfurnished properties, in 2000/01, the weekly average rents of the rural and urban areas were £78.35 and £80.60 respectively. Through the observation period, the …