Rents continue to fall
We continue to see a fall in rentals within London, from an average of £2,219 last month to an average of £2,115 in April, a 5% drop, with 2-bed properties experiencing the most significant decrease of 12%.
Year-on-year growth is slightly up from last month's 4.1% to 6%.
The pressure on rents continues to be reflected in landlord behavior, with the highest proportion (77%) we have ever seen pricing within 10% of market price. The number of properties priced at 10%+ above market rates is at its lowest we have seen, with only 4% being priced above the 10% mark.
As we begin to move out of the quieter months of the year, we are starting to see the number of enquiries per property increase again, from 45 last month to 65 in April, slightly lower than last year's 67.
There was a much higher demand for outer London properties in April, with 86 enquiries compared to 54 for Inner London, which is driving a change in the 3-month average.
Buy to let Crisis - There is Help
Following on from our report in March, where we referenced a report from The Mortgage Lender Research (TML) which stated that 40% of
mortgaged landlords having to renew their mortgage in the next year, with 30% of landlords saying they planned to increase the rent of their
property, and 23% already budgeting for an increase to mitigate increased mortgage costs.
This becomes incredibly difficult to achieve in a falling rent environment. It is more important than ever for landlords to be aware of alternative letting and management products in the market that can help relieve the burden of these additional costs. An example of the savings Hello Neighbor Full Service can help deliver is to the right, demonstrating how the savings can potentially offset a £150k mortgage that has an interest rate increase from 2% to 5%.
Landlords can save even more by using Hello Neighbour's Self-Service product at £200.
We suggest 5 questions to ask your letting agent (including us!) and showcase a comparison table of fees from London Letting Agents. You can also access a very helpful guide from The Independent Landlord here.
Download the full report here:
Hello Neighbour | Lettings Insight Report | April 2024
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