Average Rent, House Prices and Buy-to-Let Yield in Braintree (July 2026)
The average private rent in Braintree is £1,217 a month (ONS, July 2026) and the average house price £330,637 (HM Land Registry, June 2026): a gross yield of 4.4%, ranked 165 of 316 local authorities.
Rent in Braintree
The average private rent across all property types is £1,217 a month (+2.8% on a year earlier). The regional median in the East of England is £1,249.
| Property | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £853 | £10,236 a year |
| 2 bedrooms | £1,103 | £13,236 a year |
| 3 bedrooms | £1,359 | £16,308 a year |
| 4+ bedrooms | £1,977 | £23,724 a year |
The bedroom ladder in Braintree: one to two bedrooms adds 29.3% to the rent, two to three adds 23.2% and three to four-plus adds 45.5% (England-and-Wales medians 27.3%, 20.9% and 40.9%). The biggest step here is three to four or more bedrooms — the size where an extra room earns most, and the first place to look when comparing a conversion against its cost.
House prices in Braintree
The average price paid is £330,637 (+2.0% on a year earlier).
| Type | Average price |
|---|---|
| Detached | £572,705 |
| Semi-detached | £342,384 |
| Terraced | £274,327 |
| Flat | £156,192 |
Rents and prices moved together in Braintree — +2.8% and +2% over the year — so the gross yield on offer is roughly where it was twelve months ago. Braintree ranks 222nd of 316 local authorities for rent growth and 193rd of 316 for price growth; the England-and-Wales medians are +3.8% and +2.8%.
Gross yield by property type in Braintree
| Type | Rent / month | Average price | Gross yield | E&W median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | £1,103 | £156,192 | 8.5% | 7.5% |
| Terraced house | £1,359 | £274,327 | 5.9% | 5.7% |
| Semi-detached | £1,359 | £342,384 | 4.8% | 4.6% |
| Detached | £1,977 | £572,705 | 4.1% | 4.1% |
On these pairings the strongest gross yield in Braintree is on flats at 8.5%, against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type; the weakest is detached. Gross figures ignore service charges, which usually make flats the thinnest net yield of the four.
What that means for a landlord
- Gross yield 4.4% (rent × 12 ÷ price) — rank 165 of 316 local authorities; the regional median is 4.2%. Net yield is lower once mortgage interest, insurance, maintenance and voids come off.
- Tenant affordability: referencing at 30× means a household income of about £36,510 a year for the average rent.
- EPC before 2030: 46% of EPCs lodged in Braintree over the last year were below band C — the level a rented home needs by 1 October 2030 — with 34% at D (EPC ratings in Braintree).
- Council tax: Band D in Braintree is £2,280 for 2026/27, and the council charges a 100% second-home premium (council tax in Braintree).
Lender maths on the averages. At a 5.5% stress rate and 145% rent cover — the common buy-to-let convention — the average rent of £1,217 supports a loan of about £183,122, which is 55.4% of the average price. That falls short of 75% loan-to-value, so a buyer of an average home here needs a larger deposit or a stronger rent to pass the stress test. Both numbers are conventions rather than rules — change them in the stress test.
Run the numbers for Braintree
- Yield calculator with £330,637 and £1,217 already filled in
- Mortgage stress test at 75% LTV on the average price
- Rent affordability: the income a tenant needs to reference at £1,217 a month
- Rental income tax on £14,604 a year of rent
Nearest neighbours by yield, in the East of England
| Area | Rent | Price | Yield | Rent 12m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | £1,806 | £471,098 | 4.6% | +1.9% |
| Chelmsford | £1,442 | £383,103 | 4.5% | +3.3% |
| Fenland | £840 | £223,168 | 4.5% | +3.7% |
| King's Lynn and West Norfolk | £940 | £263,298 | 4.3% | +4.2% |
| Bedford | £1,170 | £329,830 | 4.3% | +3.4% |
| Central Bedfordshire | £1,249 | £356,453 | 4.2% | +3.6% |
All 316 areas ranked · council tax in Braintree · EPC ratings in Braintree.
Rents: ONS, Price Index of Private Rents (average monthly private rent by local authority, July 2026). Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (average price, June 2026). Gross yield = rent × 12 ÷ price, our calculation. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Rankings and medians are ours, across 316 local authorities.
Asked about this area
£1,217 a month across all property types (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, July 2026), up 2.8% on a year earlier.
£330,637 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026).
About 4.4% gross on the averages — £1,217 rent against a £330,637 price — ranking 165 of 316 local authorities. Net yield depends on your mortgage and costs.
Flats on our pairing: 8.5% gross (£1,103 rent on a £156,192 price), against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type.
Rents +2.8% against prices +2% over the year — moving together, so yield is broadly stable.
Referencing at 30 times the monthly rent points to roughly £36,510 a year of household income for the average home; the affordability calculator shows 24× and 36× too.
Postcode districts in Braintree
Council tax bands, sold prices and build periods for each district — all CM postcodes · all CO postcodes.