Average Rent, House Prices and Buy-to-Let Yield in Forest of Dean (July 2026)
The average private rent in Forest of Dean is £826 a month (ONS, July 2026) and the average house price £288,524 (HM Land Registry, June 2026): a gross yield of 3.4%, ranked 302 of 316 local authorities.
Rent in Forest of Dean
The average private rent across all property types is £826 a month (+0.3% on a year earlier). The regional median in the South West is £1,046.
| Property | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £593 | £7,116 a year |
| 2 bedrooms | £797 | £9,564 a year |
| 3 bedrooms | £957 | £11,484 a year |
| 4+ bedrooms | £1,445 | £17,340 a year |
The bedroom ladder in Forest of Dean: one to two bedrooms adds 34.4% to the rent, two to three adds 20.1% and three to four-plus adds 51% (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 Forest of Dean
The average price paid is £288,524 (+1.9% on a year earlier).
| Type | Average price |
|---|---|
| Detached | £392,396 |
| Semi-detached | £255,938 |
| Terraced | £215,541 |
| Flat | £126,973 |
Prices are outrunning rents in Forest of Dean. Prices moved +1.9% over the year against +0.3% for rents — a gap of 1.6 points that compresses the yield for anyone buying now, while an owner already holding takes the capital growth. Forest of Dean ranks 301st of 316 local authorities for rent growth and 199th of 316 for price growth; the England-and-Wales medians are +3.8% and +2.8%.
Gross yield by property type in Forest of Dean
| Type | Rent / month | Average price | Gross yield | E&W median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | £797 | £126,973 | 7.5% | 7.5% |
| Terraced house | £957 | £215,541 | 5.3% | 5.7% |
| Semi-detached | £957 | £255,938 | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Detached | £1,445 | £392,396 | 4.4% | 4.1% |
On these pairings the strongest gross yield in Forest of Dean is on flats at 7.5%, 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 3.4% (rent × 12 ÷ price) — rank 302 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 £24,780 a year for the average rent.
- EPC before 2030: 48% of EPCs lodged in Forest of Dean 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 Forest of Dean).
- Council tax: Band D in Forest of Dean is £2,443 for 2026/27, and the council charges a 100% second-home premium (council tax in Forest of Dean).
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 £826 supports a loan of about £124,288, which is 43.1% 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 Forest of Dean
- Yield calculator with £288,524 and £826 already filled in
- Mortgage stress test at 75% LTV on the average price
- Rent affordability: the income a tenant needs to reference at £826 a month
- Rental income tax on £9,912 a year of rent
Nearest neighbours by yield, in the South West
| Area | Rent | Price | Yield | Rent 12m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torridge | £788 | £260,783 | 3.6% | +2.5% |
| North Devon | £845 | £281,532 | 3.6% | −0.1% |
| West Devon | £840 | £286,145 | 3.5% | +2.1% |
| Stroud | £1,040 | £355,953 | 3.5% | +6% |
| South Hams | £1,009 | £360,571 | 3.4% | +3.2% |
| East Devon | £965 | £345,757 | 3.3% | +6.1% |
All 316 areas ranked · council tax in Forest of Dean · EPC ratings in Forest of Dean.
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
£826 a month across all property types (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, July 2026), up 0.3% on a year earlier.
£288,524 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026).
About 3.4% gross on the averages — £826 rent against a £288,524 price — ranking 302 of 316 local authorities. Net yield depends on your mortgage and costs.
Flats on our pairing: 7.5% gross (£797 rent on a £126,973 price), against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type.
Rents +0.3% against prices +1.9% over the year — prices ahead, so yield is compressing.
Referencing at 30 times the monthly rent points to roughly £24,780 a year of household income for the average home; the affordability calculator shows 24× and 36× too.
Postcode districts in Forest of Dean
Council tax bands, sold prices and build periods for each district — all GL postcodes · all NP postcodes.