Average Rent, House Prices and Buy-to-Let Yield in Cornwall (July 2026)
The average private rent in Cornwall is £1,004 a month (ONS, July 2026) and the average house price £277,801 (HM Land Registry, June 2026): a gross yield of 4.3%, ranked 177 of 316 local authorities.
Rent in Cornwall
The average private rent across all property types is £1,004 a month (+3.3% on a year earlier). The regional median in the South West is £1,046.
| Property | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £691 | £8,292 a year |
| 2 bedrooms | £884 | £10,608 a year |
| 3 bedrooms | £1,081 | £12,972 a year |
| 4+ bedrooms | £1,508 | £18,096 a year |
The bedroom ladder in Cornwall: one to two bedrooms adds 27.9% to the rent, two to three adds 22.3% and three to four-plus adds 39.5% (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 Cornwall
The average price paid is £277,801 (+3.7% on a year earlier).
| Type | Average price |
|---|---|
| Detached | £424,986 |
| Semi-detached | £279,195 |
| Terraced | £229,445 |
| Flat | £146,304 |
Rents and prices moved together in Cornwall — +3.3% and +3.7% over the year — so the gross yield on offer is roughly where it was twelve months ago. Cornwall ranks 189th of 316 local authorities for rent growth and 123rd of 316 for price growth; the England-and-Wales medians are +3.8% and +2.8%.
Gross yield by property type in Cornwall
| Type | Rent / month | Average price | Gross yield | E&W median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | £884 | £146,304 | 7.3% | 7.5% |
| Terraced house | £1,081 | £229,445 | 5.7% | 5.7% |
| Semi-detached | £1,081 | £279,195 | 4.6% | 4.6% |
| Detached | £1,508 | £424,986 | 4.3% | 4.1% |
On these pairings the strongest gross yield in Cornwall is on flats at 7.3%, 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 4.3% (rent × 12 ÷ price) — rank 177 of 316 local authorities; the regional median is 4.1%. Net yield is lower once mortgage interest, insurance, maintenance and voids come off.
- Tenant affordability: referencing at 30× means a household income of about £30,120 a year for the average rent.
- EPC before 2030: 55% of EPCs lodged in Cornwall over the last year were below band C — the level a rented home needs by 1 October 2030 — with 31% at D (EPC ratings in Cornwall).
- Council tax: Band D in Cornwall is £2,591 for 2026/27, and the council charges a 100% second-home premium (council tax in Cornwall).
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 £1,004 supports a loan of about £151,072, which is 54.4% 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 Cornwall
- Yield calculator with £277,801 and £1,004 already filled in
- Mortgage stress test at 75% LTV on the average price
- Rent affordability: the income a tenant needs to reference at £1,004 a month
- Rental income tax on £12,048 a year of rent
Nearest neighbours by yield, in the South West
| Area | Rent | Price | Yield | Rent 12m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torbay | £917 | £223,577 | 4.9% | +4.4% |
| Cheltenham | £1,259 | £325,399 | 4.6% | +4.3% |
| North Somerset | £1,205 | £314,628 | 4.6% | +3.4% |
| Somerset | £1,006 | £281,571 | 4.3% | +5.6% |
| Tewkesbury | £1,086 | £329,883 | 4% | +13.1% |
| Wiltshire | £1,072 | £328,908 | 3.9% | +5.9% |
All 316 areas ranked · council tax in Cornwall · EPC ratings in Cornwall.
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
£1,004 a month across all property types (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, July 2026), up 3.3% on a year earlier.
£277,801 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026).
About 4.3% gross on the averages — £1,004 rent against a £277,801 price — ranking 177 of 316 local authorities. Net yield depends on your mortgage and costs.
Flats on our pairing: 7.3% gross (£884 rent on a £146,304 price), against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type.
Rents +3.3% against prices +3.7% over the year — moving together, so yield is broadly stable.
Referencing at 30 times the monthly rent points to roughly £30,120 a year of household income for the average home; the affordability calculator shows 24× and 36× too.
Postcode districts in Cornwall
Council tax bands, sold prices and build periods for each district — all EX postcodes · all PL postcodes · all TR postcodes.
TR11PL25PL26TR14PL14TR1TR7TR18PL12PL15TR13TR15EX23TR16TR27PL31PL27TR26TR8TR4TR3TR2PL30PL13TR10PL11TR19PL17TR20PL24TR12TR9PL28PL18PL32PL22TR5PL23TR6PL10