If ever there was a good time to be a Landlord – It’s Now!
It’s been a funny few years for rental property with the government enforcing more legislation and tougher taxation. However, for London Landlords is been an incredible few months..
It’s been a funny few years for rental property with the government enforcing more legislation and tougher taxation. However, for London Landlords is been an incredible few months and they are still reaping the rewards brought on by a lack of Central London stock which in turn is forcing up rental prices. With the demand so high, we are seeing properties coming back onto market with an increase of rent of up to 35%!
July and August saw new properties advertised at rental values agreed by our residential team receive a huge amount of enquiries which led to successful best and final bids. This then allowed tenants searching a chance to put forward a bid and allowed for the Landlord to have a choice of offers, with the majority being above asking price. This strategy sees Landlords receiving higher rent than if they had overvalued the property initially and then subsequently had to reduce the price.
As is always the case in summer, larger 3+ bedroom properties are always in demand as students flock to the city. However with business travel now fully up and running post Covid, small pied-a-terre are also proving extremely popular and Landlords can absolutely be demanding higher rents for these.
During and post Covid our advice to Landlords was to get properties modernised and updated and those that have are now reaping the rewards. A good example of this is a one bedroom apartment in Covent Garden pre Covid renting for £475pw has just been placed Under Offer this week (after a small renovation) for £695pw!
So, what will September bring for our Central London Landlords?
The good news is our Greater London Properties team are confident it will remain much the same. Professional tenants who may have missed out earlier in the summer are continuing a more relaxed search but as is always the case, they will want to be moved pre-Christmas. Students however are now under a bigger time restraint and are now taking anything they can get their hands on!
Our advice is that if you do have tenants handing in their notice, call our team immediately and get your property revalued. In addition to this, if you want to get the best possible rental value - set a best and final deadline.
Our GLP residential team are here to support you and advise you in any way possible. Please call us on 0207 734 4062 or email us here.
If you are looking to sell your property, do give our Head of Sales, Oskar a call on 0207 734 4062 and he will organise a suitable time to view and value your home.
It has been a really wonderful summer and its fantastic to see Central London back to being busy and vibrant.
As always, we are looking forward to hearing from you.
Warm Regards,
Head of Residential, Greater London Properties