King’s Cross hotspot for rental growth in city as student demand pushes prices higher
Real estate experts have said it would take more than a minor setback with Covid variant Omicron to dent the sector’s recovery.
The country would have to rewind to a situation like the start of the year, when the vaccine was in its early rollout and working from home was enforced for a long time, to reverse the recovery, experts said.
Residential rental value has shot up in parts of the city including King’s Cross and Bayswater, over the past six months.
Student demand has triggered growth in King’s Cross, where rental value has grown 16.8 per cent while an ‘escape to the countryside’ has led to 15.7 per cent growth in Bayswater.
“Covid uncertainty means there is still price sensitivity and that relative affordability is another thing the area has in its favour compared to neighbouring areas of prime central London,” Samantha Di Mond, one of Knight Frank’s senior lettings negotiators, said.
Another post-lockdown winner has been Wapping (14.2 per cent growth), as office workers looked to be close to Canary Wharf again, according to estate agency Knight Frank.
Across the city, average rents rose 5.3 per cent in the three months to November in prime central London, the largest quarterly rise since September 2010.
Rents rose 5.1 per cent in prime outer London, in the largest gain since March 2004.
Should Covid restrictions continue for months or tighten, areas such as Notting Hill and St John’s Wood would benefit even more from a ‘race for space’. Historically low stock has pushed up prices in these parts of London. Areas like Bayswater could also see demand skyrocket should home-working continue for months and months again.