Renewed Confidence in London Lettings

Job security and confidence in the economy have taken a bit of a battering recently but that seems to be changing as we move into autumn. It’s not just the Olympics that have given London the feel-good factor – there seems to be a general resurgence in optimism amongst applicants and that’s translated into an upsurge in the London lettings market. After a lull during the early part of the summer, we’ve just experienced a record August, with many more applicants looking to move and often, with larger budgets than we’ve seen for a while.

A Trend Towards Longer Term Tenancies

At our Hampstead office, 78% of our new tenancies have been for 24 months with a one year break clause. This suggests greater confidence in job security and a desire by tenants to fix their rent in case rents rise. Tenants also seem to be upping their budgets – all our deals in Hampstead during August were for over £410 per week.

Imperial Wharf Rentals Break New Record!

Over at Imperial Wharf, St George’s riverside development in Fulham (www.brlets.co.uk/imperial-wharf/), news is equally upbeat. On August 31st we had 12 tenants move into apartments in a single day! Here too longer tenancies seem to be in demand, with several tenants signing new two year deals.

The period leading up to the Olympics created a rental bubble – with some properties overpriced and an overstock in some areas. Now though, the market is balancing out again and regaining its equilibrium. Of course, with 37 years’ experience in the rental industry I’ve seen many economic situations come and go but it’s always encouraging to see a return to such optimism in the market.