Latest data from agency Chestertons reveals a 125 per cent increase in the number of landlords choosing to reduce asking rents in February.
The agency says this is in reaction to shifting market conditions in the capital.
It believes that rents have dropped by up to 10 per cent in some areas compared to the same time last year; meanwhile there are nearly 40 per cent more properties on the market to rent in London compared to last year and fewer tenants actively looking to move.
This combination is putting pressure on landlords to reduce their prices in order to secure a tenant and avoid costly void periods.
Adam Jennings, Head of Lettings, says: “February didn’t see the volume of new tenants entering the market that many landlords had expected.
“At the same time, the number of available rental properties continued to rise which has left landlords little option but to start reviewing their prices.
“Landlords that have become accustomed to continually rising rents since Covid and aren’t willing to adjust to the current market conditions are increasingly finding themselves with empty properties, a situation which was very rare last year.”
Chestertons expects that if rents continue to fall over the next couple of months, more tenants will lock themselves into long-term tenancies, which will rapidly deplete the flow of rental properties on the market.
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Not seeing it near me, but I guess some locations will have more competition so prices will come under threat.
It could be because there are now over 9 million inactive people of working age. If they are not working for whatever reason they cannot afford much in the way of rent.
I don't know about that.
I see many benefit claimants living a life I couldn't afford!
Fancy phones, new cars on pcp at crazy interest rates, expensive carry out junk food, frequent holidays etc.
I've just spent £20k putting in a new staircase as a loft conversion to get two more rentable rooms. That's equivalent to at least 5 years holiday spending for me, counts as capital expenditure so no tax deduction and
it will therefore take several years to get my money back as I will be paying 48% tax on the additional rent due to the SNP and their little Green helpers.
Aye London- might be - but outside the magic circle it’s not the same.
Yes it is and in Wales certainly.
Looks like SBR is in Wales. Welsh landlords will now sell up to avoid having her as a tenant. 😂
I am in Wales and I have increased my rents substantially this year and not one tenant has complained.
Rents never go up evenly, there is always a pause while earnings catch up. I have seen some evidence of plateauing in my area as rents reach the point where tenants are maxed out, but I expect them to continue to rise later in the year. The shortage of housing is not being addressed so the upward trend will continue.
And of course our next tranche of visits from far flung places, should add another 500,000 plus people who need a place to stay 🏝🤷♂️
I can't remember having any tenant changeovers at this time of year, so perhaps it's just a temporary blip.
I'm still getting multiple enquiries for every vacancy, so the shortage is still serious in Scotland and rents still climbing by around 12% as allowed by our great leaders in the SNP and their little Green helpers.
It's called the market! Supply, demand and price will always find their correct levels without interference. Politicians, take note.
I wouldn't know about the capital, still lots of desperate lookers here in Norwich which is keeping those rents up , supply and demand
Why do firms like Chestertons and Foxtons believe the world revolves around them?🤔
They issue these pronouncements as though they make a difference to the rest of the UK. Reminds me of the scene as the curtain is pulled back revealing the “Great and Mighty Oz” to be anything but. 🤣
I'm not surprised.. People are being priced out anyway and also wouldn't be surprised if there we're a great many vacancies because people simply cannot afford them..Then what will these landlords do about it.
SBR and James Turner both post after a break, on the same day. Have they been on their hols together? 😉
People have to live somewhere, they'll find the money, likely from increased benefits
I wish them well A L perhaps they'll marry and we'll all be invited
Andrew, we should be. Our taxes will be paying for it! 🤣
Sell up of course. No one runs a business at a loss forever.
@ James Turner - TRY HARDER.
Looks like he deleted his vitriolic post.
SBR
If people were being priced out, properties would be empty and then prices would fall until people were no longer being priced out.
With 168 hours available every week and around 1 million job vacancies currently, there's ample opportunity for people to earn a 25% wage increase by working an extra 8 to 10 hours a week.
However I wouldn't have thought that opportunity would have occurred to you or be taken up by you!
Where is the post from our James?
I can't find it and I desperately need a good laugh!
I haven't removed it. But going by some of the terrible racist comments left on this site deleting what I have to say is a bit rich.
Ah, I remember what I said. I might start screenshotting some of these comments and sending them to national publications.
Whoever moderates this site clearly didn't like that prospect, so it must be the correct direction to be going in.
I suggest you adopt fake names if you wish to spout your terrible opinions here in the future.
Oh dear James, what a sad person you must be.
He is. Just look at the language he uses to describe landlords.
I'm not really interested in what's happening in London. I have no investments there. Here in Inverness there's a HUGE shortage of properties and I'm putting up all my rents from April... I wouldn't have bothered but after the long lived restrictions on rent increases etc here in Scotland I feel that I should now take every opportunity to increase the rents as much as humanly possible. Well done Scottish government!!! 👍
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Shane, you are right not to be interested in London, property is double the cost to buy as in Scotland and real returns are less.
We are always hit first and a test bed for rest of the Country. The Big Boys are taking over in London building thousands of High rise Flats yet people are so naive they think enough is not being built its just a catch phrase if only they look around themselves use their brain not media hype.
We have a Mayor that knows nothing about housing, knows nothing about how drainage systems work, knows nothing about pot holes, knows nothing about quality road surfaces crumbling away after just 3 years at a speed restriction limit of 20 mph & still it crumbles. He knows all about ULEZ £12.50 pd & congestion charge £15.00 pd only understands money for nothing like every London Council. Landlords are No 1 target for everything hardly any other business left to attack now.
Ive been waiting for Chestertons to come out of the woodwork and go for their usual price reduction gambit. The only reason their stat could possibly hold any water was if they were over valuing some of these properties by 20/30% to test the market. That however is a very different context to any suggestion that rents are dropping anywhere in the UK. Supply is still dire, demand off the charts. It has been the case for a few years now and I cant see it reversing ever as it stands. With net migration at half a million +, build rates at about 200,000 and landlords now with even more incentive to sell, the problem is only going to get worse and worse.
Moreover, it will take a very brave government to even try to slow the trend and nibble away at the defecit. We cant build any faster for a variety of reasons, not least developers dont want to, we dont want to or are unable to control the numbers coming to the UK, and the tax breaks required to get landords investing are perceived to be a poisioned chalice with the man on the clapham omnibus, a gauranteed election defeat to follow soon after.
As an aside, I would love to meet one of these landlords who have an empty property, unable to rent it.
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