Average gross rental yields across England and Wales reached 7.9 per cent during the third quarter of 2026, up from 7.5 per cent a year earlier, according to Fleet Mortgages’ latest Rental Barometer.
The lender also found that its average landlord applicant owned 18 investment properties, compared with 12 in the same quarter of 2025. Landlords with at least 15 properties accounted for 30 per cent of applications, while 66 per cent came from those owning four or more.
The figures suggest that experienced portfolio landlords remain willing to invest where the numbers work. They do not show that every landlord is expanding, or that the private rented sector has added homes overall. Fleet’s results are drawn from its own lending and application data, which naturally reflects borrowers using a specialist buy-to-let lender rather than the whole landlord population.
The regional gap is substantial
Yorkshire and Humberside led Fleet’s table with an average yield of 9.3 per cent, up from 8.2 per cent a year earlier. The North East followed at 9.2 per cent, while the East Midlands reached 8.4 per cent and both the North West and West Midlands remained above 8 per cent.
Greater London recorded the lowest average yield at 6.4 per cent, although it also had the highest average monthly rent at £2,597. Wales was one of only two regions, alongside the North West, where the annual yield fell. Its average reduced from 8.2 to 7.5 per cent, even though Wales produced the highest proportion of purchase applications in Fleet’s regional data during the quarter.
That contrast matters. A high-yield region is not automatically the busiest investment market, and an average for a large region cannot determine whether an individual property is viable. Purchase price, achievable rent, property condition, local demand, void periods and management costs can vary sharply between neighbouring towns and even streets.
Gross yield is not profit
The 7.9 per cent figure is a gross rental yield. It compares annual rent with property value before mortgage interest, tax, insurance, maintenance, management, licensing, compliance work and periods without rent are deducted. It is therefore a useful first measure, but not a statement that landlords are making a 7.9 per cent net return.
Fleet’s finance data illustrates the pressure beneath the headline. Average rental cover at the point of lending fell from 144 per cent in the second quarter to 132 per cent in the third. Over the same period, the average market two-year fixed buy-to-let rate increased from 4.78 to 4.89 per cent and the average five-year rate rose from 5.44 to 5.57 per cent.
Purchase business also eased from 36 to 34 per cent of applications. That is a modest movement, not evidence of a market withdrawal, but it shows that improving gross yields have not removed the effect of higher finance costs and tighter affordability calculations.
A more concentrated landlord market
The rise from 12 to 18 properties among Fleet’s average applicants indicates that lending activity is becoming more concentrated among larger operators. First-time landlords still represented 10 per cent of applications, slightly higher than the previous quarter, so the data does not support the claim that new entrants have disappeared.
It does, however, point towards further professionalisation. Larger portfolios may be better able to spread repair bills and voids, employ specialist management and move investment between regions. Smaller landlords can face the same regulatory and financing demands across fewer properties, making each unexpected cost more significant.
For tenants, ownership becoming more professional could bring more consistent systems and longer-term investment. The outcome depends on whether portfolio growth adds homes to the rental market or mainly transfers existing properties from one landlord to another. Fleet’s application figures cannot answer that wider supply question.
What the figures really show
The confirmed picture is mixed. Gross yields increased in eight of Fleet’s ten regions over the year, larger portfolio landlords formed a growing share of applications and first-time investors remained present. At the same time, rental cover weakened and purchase activity dipped during a quarter of higher mortgage pricing.
The report therefore challenges a simple story of universal landlord retreat, but it does not prove that the sector is expanding. It shows that capital is still available for properties and locations capable of supporting the required rent, while the margin for error has narrowed. For landlords assessing a purchase or refinance, the decisive figure is not the regional headline yield but the return left after realistic finance and operating costs have been allowed for.
NetRent does not provide legal advice. This article represents our understanding of rental property law and is provided for general information only. Landlords should obtain independent legal or professional advice where appropriate.
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