Demand in the London lettings market is lower than it has been at this time of year in both 2024 and 2023.

That’s according to a lettings agency, Hello Neighbour.

After the usual slowdown in demand in December, January picked up but produced only 38 viewing requests per property in January 2025 compared to 50 in the previous two years.

The agency reports that London rents in December were down 2% from the previous month to £2,220 but were up 4.9% compared to the previous three months. Year on year, although rents rose slightly in December, they decreased by 2.6% compared to January 2024, aligning with the trend observed in the months leading up to December.

Rental prices remain close to the average, with 62% of landlords pricing within 10% of the market rate and 64% pricing slightly below market rents.

The gap in demand between outer London and inner London over the last three months has closed, with 57 viewing requests per property in outer London compared to 58 in inner London

Harrow had the highest number of viewing requests over the past three months, with an average of 162 requests per property, followed by Islington with 138.