Asking rents outside London have hit a new record high of £1,344 on average per month, having increased by 5.2% annually, according to a property website.

The average rent advertised for London properties also reached a new record of £2,694 per month, which was 2.5% higher than a year earlier, Rightmove said.

The figures cover the third quarter of 2024 across Britain.

Rightmove said the average number of inquiries per rental property is now 15, down from 23 last year, but nearly double the eight recorded in 2019.

The supply of homes available to rent has increased annually but is still below 2019 levels, Rightmove said.

It added that asking rents on more than a fifth (21%) of properties are being reduced before a tenant is found.

This is up from one in six (16%) last year.

As well as a higher proportion of asking rent reductions, Rightmove also said there were signs of some landlords selling up, with 18% of homes for sale being previously available to rent, up from 8% in 2010.

Rightmove’s director of property science Tim Bannister said: “While we’re seeing some signs of improvement in the market’s chronic levels of demand and supply imbalance helped by a slight increase in the number of available rental properties, affordability remains a key challenge for renters as prices continue to hit new records.

“Tenant competition has eased slightly from last year, but the market is still far from balanced.”

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of property professionals’ body Propertymark, said: “Landlords have faced continuous financial and regulatory hurdles with many having to pass on certain costs by raising rents just to break even on their increasing expenditure.”