Named - the area where rents are up 42 per cent in a year

A London borough has been identified as having 42 per cent rental inflation in the past year.

Lambeth in the south of the capital was ahead of Hounslow (up 39 per cent) and Newham (up 35 per cent) according to the respected market index produced by the Home website.

For London as a whole the website says: “London asking rents are still rising at an extraordinary pace. Overwhelming demand and dwindling supply are driving annualised rental growth to a breathtaking rate of 23 per cent.”

The rental market for the rest of England and Wales, says Home, “continues to show very high demand, as indicated by very short marketing times for properties available to let.”

Scotland has the quickest market, with the Typical Time on Market for property to let at a mere 13 days. There are currently less than half the number of properties available to let north of the border than there were in pre-pandemic December 2019.

Meanwhile, London is the slowest at 19 days which Home points out is still a very quick turnaround time for re-lets. The capital region has around 40 per cent fewer properties available to let this month than it did in December 2019.

“These low stock levels are driving rents up and setting new records in each region just about every month. Overall, asking rents have risen by 20 per cent during the last 12 months.”

In the sales market Home says supply and demand are both being reshaped in the face of costlier mortgages. Prices are being trimmed and many more vendors are withdrawing their properties from the market, especially the more costly ones.

New instructions are also being priced more conservatively and this, combined with the surge in withdrawals and price cutting, has hit hard.

The national average asking price has dropped 2.4 per cent in a single month by Home’s estimate - a greater fall than in any month following the 2008 financial crisis.

The supply of new instructions remains within the normal range, thus indicating that there is not a panic-driven flood of sellers. The stock total of unsold property has been recovering over recent months from the all-time low set in February but remains a long way off the 10-year average.

Moreover, increasing numbers of vendor withdrawals have meant a more muted rise since last month. The fact that many sellers can simply choose not to sell at the present time suggests that there is considerable financial resilience among owners.