London housing rents fall for the first time since the pandemic
Rents in the city of 9 million people are now £2 cheaper than a month ago
[LONDON] Private housing rents in London edged lower in July for the first time since 2021 when the UK was emerging from Covid restrictions, a sign that the capital’s cost-of-living crisis is starting to ease, according to official data.
They fell 0.1 per cent on average to £2,250 (S$3,896.21) per month following three months of near-stagnation, Land Registry figures published on Wednesday (Aug 20) by the Office for National Statistics show. London rents last declined in July 2021.
Rents in the city of 9 million people are now £2 cheaper than a month ago – little comfort for tenants struggling in the UK’s most unaffordable housing market. Still, it marks a significant moment, with the fall bringing an end to four years of rampant increases that pushed rents almost 30 per cent above their pre-pandemic levels.
Property experts said that more rental properties are coming onto the market in London just as the number of tenants is growing more slowly. Among the capital’s 32 boroughs, the steepest monthly decline was recorded in Brent, where prices dropped 1.3 per cent, followed by Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham, Southwark and Kensington & Chelsea. Annual rent inflation in London eased to 6.3 per cent in July, the slowest in over two years.
There were over 46,000 properties in the private rental sector in July, a 14 per cent increase from the year before, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents Propertymark. A separate survey of UK surveyors suggested tenant demand in London has been sluggish in recent months.
“Stock levels play a role in the fluctuation of rents regionally, and London specifically has seen continuous year-on-year rises in the number of properties on the market,” Megan Eighteen, president of the Association of Residential Letting Agents Propertymark, said.
Rents have been under pressure across the UK. Nationally, annual rent inflation eased to 5.9 per cent in July to £1,343 after prices stagnated during the month.
Among English regions, rent inflation was strongest in the North East, while Yorkshire and the Humber posted the slowest gains.
Easing rent inflation provides some relief for the Labour government as it tries to deliver on promises to boost living standards. The figures follow a report earlier this week showing that affordability has worsened across the UK in 2024 as pay failed to keep up pace with the cost of leasing a home. BLOOMBERG
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