Average Rent, House Prices and Buy-to-Let Yield in Dorset (July 2026)
The average private rent in Dorset is £1,051 a month (ONS, July 2026) and the average house price £325,410 (HM Land Registry, June 2026): a gross yield of 3.9%, ranked 254 of 316 local authorities.
Rent in Dorset
The average private rent across all property types is £1,051 a month (+4.8% on a year earlier). The regional median in the South West is £1,046.
| Property | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £728 | £8,736 a year |
| 2 bedrooms | £961 | £11,532 a year |
| 3 bedrooms | £1,184 | £14,208 a year |
| 4+ bedrooms | £1,674 | £20,088 a year |
The bedroom ladder in Dorset: one to two bedrooms adds 32% to the rent, two to three adds 23.2% and three to four-plus adds 41.4% (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 Dorset
The average price paid is £325,410 (+1.6% on a year earlier).
| Type | Average price |
|---|---|
| Detached | £515,144 |
| Semi-detached | £330,336 |
| Terraced | £264,807 |
| Flat | £167,991 |
Rents are outrunning prices in Dorset. Rents moved +4.8% over the year against +1.6% for prices — a gap of 3.2 points that lifts the gross yield a buyer sees today. Dorset ranks 118th of 316 local authorities for rent growth and 210th of 316 for price growth; the England-and-Wales medians are +3.8% and +2.8%.
Gross yield by property type in Dorset
| Type | Rent / month | Average price | Gross yield | E&W median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | £961 | £167,991 | 6.9% | 7.5% |
| Terraced house | £1,184 | £264,807 | 5.4% | 5.7% |
| Semi-detached | £1,184 | £330,336 | 4.3% | 4.6% |
| Detached | £1,674 | £515,144 | 3.9% | 4.1% |
On these pairings the strongest gross yield in Dorset is on flats at 6.9%, 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 3.9% (rent × 12 ÷ price) — rank 254 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 £31,530 a year for the average rent.
- EPC before 2030: 49% of EPCs lodged in Dorset over the last year were below band C — the level a rented home needs by 1 October 2030 — with 35% at D (EPC ratings in Dorset).
- Council tax: Band D in Dorset is £2,765 for 2026/27, and the council charges a 100% second-home premium (council tax in Dorset).
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 £1,051 supports a loan of about £158,144, which is 48.6% 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 Dorset
- Yield calculator with £325,410 and £1,051 already filled in
- Mortgage stress test at 75% LTV on the average price
- Rent affordability: the income a tenant needs to reference at £1,051 a month
- Rental income tax on £12,612 a year of rent
Nearest neighbours by yield, in the South West
| Area | Rent | Price | Yield | Rent 12m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| Teignbridge | £958 | £303,564 | 3.8% | +3.7% |
| Mid Devon | £876 | £284,283 | 3.7% | +1.6% |
| Cotswold | £1,248 | £411,764 | 3.6% | +6% |
All 316 areas ranked · council tax in Dorset · EPC ratings in Dorset.
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
£1,051 a month across all property types (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, July 2026), up 4.8% on a year earlier.
£325,410 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026).
About 3.9% gross on the averages — £1,051 rent against a £325,410 price — ranking 254 of 316 local authorities. Net yield depends on your mortgage and costs.
Flats on our pairing: 6.9% gross (£961 rent on a £167,991 price), against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type.
Rents +4.8% against prices +1.6% over the year — rents ahead, so yield is rising for a buyer today.
Referencing at 30 times the monthly rent points to roughly £31,530 a year of household income for the average home; the affordability calculator shows 24× and 36× too.