The London rental market – February 2017

We continue to see strong rental demand across our 16 London lettings branches and enquiry levels are high. With a number of new property developments completing at the moment, from London Dock Wapping to Battersea Power Station and the latest phase of rental apartments at Fulham Reach, there is a lot of stock coming on to the market over the next few months and strong competition amongst landlords to attract tenants quickly.

The best way landlords can do this is firstly to ensure their property is accurately priced by seeking the advice of their letting agent, and secondly to ensure the property is attractively furnished in order to appeal to discerning professionals. Stylish furnishings create the lifestyle that tenants are looking for, and most of our landlords use our professional furnishing service, with excellent results. Over 85% of the properties we furnish are let within a week.

Excellent presentation is also essential when putting a property back on the market at the end of the current tenancy. As soon as the tenant has left, the landlord should have the property thoroughly cleaned, decorated and furnishings and accessories replaced if necessary so the property is in tip-top condition and looking its best, ready for viewings. This ensures the property lets quickly, minimising voids and increasing rental yield.

City, Docklands and East London (City, Canary Wharf and Wapping)

Rental demand in the City, Canary Wharf and East London is buoyant, with keenly priced apartments renting at £400/£425 per week letting quickly and demand also good for mid-range properties up to £600 per week. Above that properties are taking longer to rent. With several major developments launching now, such as London Dock, the last phase of Marine Wharf, and Dollar Bay and Artisan Place in Canary Wharf, we have good stocks and have been receiving a lot of new instructions over the last few weeks.

Each new development raises the bar in terms of its amenities – London Dock on the borders of Wapping and St Katherine’s Dock is completing now, with Manhattan one bed apartments letting for upwards of £525 per week and one beds from £575 per week. It has 22,000 sq ft of leisure facilities, including squash courts, a swimming pool, gym and spa and cinema. Launching now near Canary Wharf is Artisan Place, a new canalside development just a ten minute walk from Canary Wharf. We have several instructions here, with apartments very well priced at £275 per week for a studio, £300 per week for a one bed and £375 per week for a two bed. Also new in Canary Wharf is Dollar Bay, a residential tower with fantastic views. Amenities here include a gym and concierge and we have several properties here, with one bedroom apartments letting for upwards of £425 per week. At our City office, the latest development attracting a lot of interest is Princes House, a beautiful, renovated period building in Kingsway where one bedroom apartments are letting for over £575 per week.

Developments vary in the amenities they offer, so increasingly we find that tenants are very specific about the facilities they want, whether this is a large gym with certain types of fitness equipment, a good-sized pool or in the case of London Dock, squash courts, so they can choose the block which best suits their needs.

South East London (Greenwich and Surrey Quays)

In South East London, our Greenwich and Surrey Quays branches are also busy handling enquiries for several new developments launching at the moment. Near Greenwich, on the borders with Blackheath, we are carrying out viewings for the latest phase of Kidbrooke Village, a development which offers great value for money and where one bed studios are letting for £275 per week and spacious one bed apartments for £300 per week. The final phases of Surrey Quays, Mariners Place and Endeavour House will be completing towards the end of March and applicants are enquiring about properties now. One bed apartments will be renting for upwards of £350 per week.

South West Central London (Imperial Wharf and Nine Elms)

Demand is good in South West central London, with properties letting well at the ever popular Imperial Wharf and Chelsea Creek. We have good stocks of properties in both developments and continue to receive new instructions regularly. Having a branch on-site here is really helpful and enables us to carry out viewings more efficiently. Doulton House remains one of the most popular buildings at Imperial Wharf, with two bedroom apartments here achieving upwards of £600 per week. The developments are popular with UK professionals as well as overseas applicants, particularly from Europe and the Middle East. South of the river at Nine Elms Point, the market has picked up noticeably over the last few weeks. The long-awaited arrival of apartments at Battersea Power Station is now with us – we have over a dozen apartments to rent here and there has already been a lot of interest from applicants. We have been helping our landlords prepare their property for rental, supplying smart furnishing packages that we know will ensure their apartment appeals to professional tenants. As the nearby Northern Line tube station is not yet complete, the developer is currently running a shuttle bus service to Victoria and Sloane Square and this has been a huge incentive for applicants looking to move to Nine Elms.

Central London (Hyde Park/Paddington, Kensington, Knightsbridge)

Rental demand in Hyde Park and nearby Paddington is picking up and we have good stocks of one and two bedroom apartments which are the most popular types of property at the moment. Applicants’ budgets remain under pressure and most are keen to keep their accommodation costs within a specified limit. Most are looking to spend around £400 per week on a one bedroom property while those looking for a two bedroom apartment, often professional sharers, £550 to £575 per week is the typical budget. Developments launching at the moment include Hardy Mansions at Portobello Square where two bedroom properties are achieving £550 per week. We also have several instructions at Paddington Exchange for which we are now receiving enquiries.

In Kensington and Knightsbridge, the year has got off to a good start and applicants are actively looking for new homes. Studios and one bedroom apartments are in highest demand in Knightsbridge while in Kensington we are seeing demand for properties ranging from one bedroom apartments to small family homes and we are short of stock in some locations so would like to receive more instructions. One of the most exciting new developments to launch will be the fabulous Lillie Square in March which is certain to attract a lot of interest.

North/North West London (Hampstead, Highgate and Beaufort Park)

Our Hampstead office has had a very positive January, with rental demand stronger than in the previous year. We have been receiving quite a few new instructions too, particularly for one bedroom apartments. One and two bedroom apartments are letting quickly and there is also good demand for three and four bedroom family homes. We have quite a few properties priced at over £1,000 per week, with these letting mainly to corporate tenants relocating from the US, China and Japan. A noticeable change is that applicants are now making offers at full asking rental, whereas towards the end of 2016 they would hope to do a deal. There are generally fewer rental properties on the market at the moment, so with greater competition for the best properties we believe that tenants are keen to secure their chosen property and not risk losing it to another applicant.

In nearby Highgate, demand is also good, particularly for one and two bedroom apartments and for three or four bedroom houses renting for up to £700 per week. We also have good interest for larger family homes up to £2000 per week. Most properties are achieving close to asking rental. Beaufort Park in Colindale goes from strength to strength and business is brisk. The latest phase, Golding House, is extremely popular and apartments are letting quickly – one beds are achieving £320 – £340 per week and two beds £420 – £440 per week.

West London (Ealing, Kew/Brentford, Hammersmith)

Demand for rental properties in West London continues to grow and new property developments in Ealing and near Kew such as Brentford are extremely busy, with apartments letting quickly. Developments such as Dickens Yard in Ealing and Kew Bridge in Brentford are now attracting interest from growing numbers of overseas applicants. The developments have often been recommended to them by relocation agents who are suggesting them as an alternative to central London where their budget will stretch further, offering a similar spec property yet at a more affordable rent. With shortages of stock at some West London residential developments, we are actively looking for new instructions. Demand continues to pick up again at Fulham Reach Hammersmith, with two bedroom properties most popular. We are looking forward to the launch of Faulkner House in March – each apartment will have its own terrace or balcony and we expect demand for these high spec homes to be brisk.

I’ll be making one of my periodic visits to Hong Kong in March and investors in this region who would like to meet up with me for should contact Penny Cheung at our Hong Kong office to arrange an appointment.