London’s rental crash bottoms out as landlords see first signs of recovery
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The decline in London’s residential rent market appears to have bottomed out, with the latest average rent figures suggesting a return to positive territory in the near future.
The average London rent was tracking as low as -9.4 per cent year-on-year in January, but that figure has now recovered to just -3.8 per cent.
And Kate Eales of agency Strutt and Parker said the Zoopla data showed the early signs of recovery.
“Now that restrictions on travel are easing, short term stock will come out of the rental market and students will likely return, which in turn could see an increase in growth,” she said.
Excluding London, residential markets are rising at their highest rate for over a decade, currently tracking at 5 per cent year on year.
The average monthly rent across the country is now £943 per month – in London the figure is now £1,593.
Zoopla’s report suggests London’s renters will soon see their rents once again going up.
“As ever, much will be dependent on the extent to which the current rules around COVID continue as they are, but if they do, the demand for rental property, coupled with lower levels of supply, will continue to put upward pressure on rents. In London, this will translate into rental growth returning to positive territory late 2021 or early 2022.”
Read more: Affordability in UK housing market plunges to 10-year low