Average Rent, House Prices and Buy-to-Let Yield in Medway (July 2026)
The average private rent in Medway is £1,236 a month (ONS, July 2026) and the average house price £296,182 (HM Land Registry, June 2026): a gross yield of 5.0%, ranked 85 of 316 local authorities.
Rent in Medway
The average private rent across all property types is £1,236 a month (+2.5% on a year earlier). The regional median in the South East is £1,355.
| Property | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £899 | £10,788 a year |
| 2 bedrooms | £1,141 | £13,692 a year |
| 3 bedrooms | £1,340 | £16,080 a year |
| 4+ bedrooms | £1,829 | £21,948 a year |
The bedroom ladder in Medway: one to two bedrooms adds 26.9% to the rent, two to three adds 17.4% and three to four-plus adds 36.5% (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 Medway
The average price paid is £296,182 (+1.1% on a year earlier).
| Type | Average price |
|---|---|
| Detached | £531,901 |
| Semi-detached | £351,457 |
| Terraced | £273,509 |
| Flat | £167,976 |
Rents and prices moved together in Medway — +2.5% and +1.1% over the year — so the gross yield on offer is roughly where it was twelve months ago. Medway ranks 231st of 316 local authorities for rent growth and 225th of 316 for price growth; the England-and-Wales medians are +3.8% and +2.8%.
Gross yield by property type in Medway
| Type | Rent / month | Average price | Gross yield | E&W median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | £1,141 | £167,976 | 8.2% | 7.5% |
| Terraced house | £1,340 | £273,509 | 5.9% | 5.7% |
| Semi-detached | £1,340 | £351,457 | 4.6% | 4.6% |
| Detached | £1,829 | £531,901 | 4.1% | 4.1% |
On these pairings the strongest gross yield in Medway is on flats at 8.2%, 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 5.0% (rent × 12 ÷ price) — rank 85 of 316 local authorities; the regional median is 4.3%. Net yield is lower once mortgage interest, insurance, maintenance and voids come off.
- Tenant affordability: referencing at 30× means a household income of about £37,080 a year for the average rent.
- EPC before 2030: 38% of EPCs lodged in Medway 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 Medway).
- Council tax: Band D in Medway is £2,329 for 2026/27, and the council charges a 100% second-home premium (council tax in Medway).
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 £1,236 supports a loan of about £185,981, which is 62.8% 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 Medway
- Yield calculator with £296,182 and £1,236 already filled in
- Mortgage stress test at 75% LTV on the average price
- Rent affordability: the income a tenant needs to reference at £1,236 a month
- Rental income tax on £14,832 a year of rent
Nearest neighbours by yield, in the South East
| Area | Rent | Price | Yield | Rent 12m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hastings | £1,006 | £236,966 | 5.1% | +1.6% |
| Rushmoor | £1,387 | £328,963 | 5.1% | +5.6% |
| Oxford | £1,966 | £466,815 | 5.1% | +4.8% |
| Thanet | £1,114 | £268,760 | 5% | +3.8% |
| Milton Keynes | £1,343 | £325,104 | 5% | +3.8% |
| Isle of Wight | £950 | £240,998 | 4.7% | +7.6% |
All 316 areas ranked · council tax in Medway · EPC ratings in Medway.
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
£1,236 a month across all property types (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, July 2026), up 2.5% on a year earlier.
£296,182 (HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026).
About 5.0% gross on the averages — £1,236 rent against a £296,182 price — ranking 85 of 316 local authorities. Net yield depends on your mortgage and costs.
Flats on our pairing: 8.2% gross (£1,141 rent on a £167,976 price), against an England-and-Wales median of 7.5% for that type.
Rents +2.5% against prices +1.1% over the year — moving together, so yield is broadly stable.
Referencing at 30 times the monthly rent points to roughly £37,080 a year of household income for the average home; the affordability calculator shows 24× and 36× too.