The cost of renting grew at a record rate last month amid huge spikes in house prices, but regardless, renting is now cheaper than buying a house.

The average cost of a rented home in Britain jumped to £1,054 per month in May, up 7.1% on the same month last year according to Hamptons, the fastest rise seen by the estate agency since they started analysing the market in 2013.

The spike was largest for bigger properties, a trend that had played out since the market reopened after the first lockdown last year, with the average rent on a four-bed property rising by 9.5% to £1,805. Rents on one-bedroom homes, on the other hand, rose by 0.4%.

While the average monthly rent stands at £1,054, the average first-time buyer with a 10% deposit mortgage spent £1,125 on mortgage repayments last month, an extra £71.

This reversal is a first since December 2014, with Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, putting the trend down to the coronavirus pandemic.

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