博鱼体育集团

Landlords remained in the driving seat in the rental market across London and the Home Counties in March.

Low supply and high demand means that average rental values in prime central London increased by 3.5% in the first three months of the year. In prime outer London, there was a rise of 2.5%.

Annual growth has reached record levels due to how far rental values fell in the early months of last year as the market became flooded with short-let rental properties due to pandemic staycation rules.

Average rental values increased by 21% in prime outer London and by 26.3% in prime central London in the year to March. Rents are now 8.2% higher than they were before the pandemic in prime central London and 7.2% in prime outer London.

We would expect annual growth to return to single digits later this year due to the equally steep rise in rents that took place in the second half of last year.

鈥淒emand is still outstripping supply,鈥� said Gary Hall, head of lettings at 博鱼体育集团 Frank. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good news for landlords as it means void periods are very short. For tenants, it is still a tough market and decisions need to be taken quickly. It has been this way for nine months and I can鈥檛 remember seeing these sorts of conditions for this length of time.鈥�

Although supply is picking up, demand is growing more quickly.

The number of market valuation appraisals (a leading indicator of supply) was 25% higher in the year to March than the previous 12 months. At the same time, the number of new applicants was 48% higher.

Furthermore, the number of leads from relocation agents in March reached its highest level since August 2019 in a sign that demand from overseas tenants will remain strong.

Despite the clear direction of travel over the last 12 months, there are early indications that more balanced market conditions are set to return, particularly as some of the heat comes out of the sales market.

鈥淭here is no real pattern yet but we have noticed stock levels start to pick up in pockets across London,鈥� said Gary. 鈥淚t may be that some owners have attempted to sell and have not achieved their asking price.鈥�