Revealed – 8% uplift in the prime London rental market

In new research conducted by London estate agent Bective, it has been revealed that the prime London rental market has benefited from an 8% uplift throughout the past year.

The market remains buoyant, with record high demand as some of the most popular London locations rose by 29%.

By analysing data provided by Lonres during the third quarter of 2020 and comparing it to the third quarter of 2021, Bective was able to reveal these findings. 

The reason for uplift across London

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has presented various challenges for the property industry, there has been tremendous have grown over the past 12 months. 

Bective head of lettings and property management, Tom Dainty, explains: “2021 has been a good year for the prime rental market, all things considered. Typically renting within the prime market is driven by lifestyle rather than necessity, such as work for example. So the market hasn’t suffered to the same extent from the exodus of London professionals looking outside the capital for cheaper rents while working at home." 

"At the same time, we’ve seen an uplift in demand as travel restrictions have eased and foreign interest has returned to the London market. In many cases, those with a long-term view of homeownership are choosing to try before they buy via the rental market to ensure a particular neighbourhood is right for them before committing to a purchase."

"As a result, larger family houses have been renting at exceptional speeds and a real shortage of suitable stock has seen eager tenants offer above and beyond asking rents to secure them. This has been the predominant factor behind the sustained health of the prime rental market, although we are now seeing enquiries for apartments start to climb once again.”

Monthly rental values across London

The findings show that on average it costs £1,078 per week to rent in a high-end neighbourhood. Compared to the same time last year this is an 8% increase, as tenants were roughly charged around £998 a year ago.

The Docklands and Canary Wharf were labelled as the most affordable areas to rent in prime London as weekly rent costs around £496. 

While tenants around the Bayswater and Maida Vale areas can expect to pay almost double as rent costs roughly £1,205 per week. This is a 29% increase compared to the cost of rent this time last year, making these the London locations with the highest overall increase. 

In contrast, most London locations have shown upward growth in the average rent achieved apart from four.

In Marylebone rental values have dropped by 13% since this time last year. Rental took a 4% dip in the Midtown, City & City Fringe area. South Kensington also saw a decline as weekly rent dropped by 3%.