Rich Pickings: prime central London lettings market booms, says agency

A new report from Knight Frank shows how the country’s most expensive lettings market - prime central London - has boomed.

The number of tenancies agreed by Knight Frank in the year to September increased by 39 per cent, while there was a 29 per cent boost in the number of new prospective tenants registering in the year to September.

The number of tenancies agreed below £1,000 per week in prime central London increased by 42 per cent in the year to September; and the number of tenancies agreed above £5,000 per week rose by a fifth to 146 in the year to September according to LonRes data - “indicating how demand in the highest price brackets has strengthened in response to political uncertainty” says Knight Frank. 

However, between £1,000 and £1,500 per week in PCL, average rental values declined 1.7 per cent in the year to September and between £1,500 and £2,000 the drop was 2.2 per cent. The agency says this is down to subdued demand from the senior executives who are typically more active between £1,000 and £5,000 per week. 

“People are watching and waiting for the political situation to play out and some have decided to rent” says Tom Smith, head of super-prime lettings at Knight Frank. 

“People tell me they want to remain flexible, not just because of Brexit but because of their concerns around global trade tensions and the state of the world economy.” 

Meanwhile student lets accounted for 21 per cent of all London tenancies agreed by Knight Frank in the 12 months to August up from 17 per cent the previous year.