Average Rent, House Prices and Buy-to-Let Yield in Cardiff (July 2026)
The average private rent in Cardiff is £1,169 a month (ONS, July 2026) and the average house price £270,094 (HM Land Registry, June 2026): a gross yield of 5.2%, ranked 59 of 316 local authorities.
Rent in Cardiff
The average private rent across all property types is £1,169 a month (+3.4% on a year earlier). The regional median in Wales is £754.
| Property | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £902 | £10,824 a year |
| 2 bedrooms | £1,078 | £12,936 a year |
| 3 bedrooms | £1,203 | £14,436 a year |
| 4+ bedrooms | £1,693 | £20,316 a year |
The bedroom ladder in Cardiff: one to two bedrooms adds 19.5% to the rent, two to three adds 11.6% and three to four-plus adds 40.7% (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 Cardiff
The average price paid is £270,094 (+2.1% on a year earlier).
| Type | Average price |
|---|---|
| Detached | £516,676 |
| Semi-detached | £321,684 |
| Terraced | £259,638 |
| Flat | £159,783 |
Rents and prices moved together in Cardiff — +3.4% and +2.1% over the year — so the gross yield on offer is roughly where it was twelve months ago. Cardiff ranks 180th of 316 local authorities for rent growth and 192nd of 316 for price growth; the England-and-Wales medians are +3.8% and +2.8%.
Gross yield by property type in Cardiff
| Type | Rent / month | Average price | Gross yield | E&W median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | £1,078 | £159,783 | 8.1% | 7.5% |
| Terraced house | £1,203 | £259,638 | 5.6% | 5.7% |
| Semi-detached | £1,203 | £321,684 | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Detached | £1,693 | £516,676 | 3.9% | 4.1% |
On these pairings the strongest gross yield in Cardiff is on flats at 8.1%, 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 5.2% (rent × 12 ÷ price) — rank 59 of 316 local authorities; the regional median is 4.4%. Net yield is lower once mortgage interest, insurance, maintenance and voids come off.
- Tenant affordability: referencing at 30× means a household income of about £35,070 a year for the average rent.
- EPC before 2030: 33% of EPCs lodged in Cardiff over the last year were below band C — the level a rented home needs by 1 October 2030 — with 29% at D (EPC ratings in Cardiff).
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 £1,169 supports a loan of about £175,900, which is 65.1% 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 Cardiff
- Yield calculator with £270,094 and £1,169 already filled in
- Mortgage stress test at 75% LTV on the average price
- Rent affordability: the income a tenant needs to reference at £1,169 a month
- Rental income tax on £14,028 a year of rent
Nearest neighbours by yield, in Wales
| Area | Rent | Price | Yield | Rent 12m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merthyr Tydfil | £755 | £146,611 | 6.2% | −1.1% |
| Blaenau Gwent | £679 | £144,603 | 5.6% | +6.9% |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | £753 | £167,559 | 5.4% | +2.2% |
| Torfaen | £858 | £199,778 | 5.2% | +1.1% |
| Neath Port Talbot | £689 | £162,967 | 5.1% | +6.9% |
| Newport | £956 | £230,505 | 5% | +2.6% |
All 316 areas ranked · council tax in Cardiff · EPC ratings in Cardiff.
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
£1,169 a month across all property types (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, July 2026), up 3.4% on a year earlier.
£270,094 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026).
About 5.2% gross on the averages — £1,169 rent against a £270,094 price — ranking 59 of 316 local authorities. Net yield depends on your mortgage and costs.
Flats on our pairing: 8.1% gross (£1,078 rent on a £159,783 price), against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type.
Rents +3.4% against prices +2.1% over the year — moving together, so yield is broadly stable.
Referencing at 30 times the monthly rent points to roughly £35,070 a year of household income for the average home; the affordability calculator shows 24× and 36× too.