Benham and Reeves explained that ‘this is the most competitive London rental market that we have ever known.’ It’s clear that this is a challenging time for those wishing to find a place to live as Benham and Reeves state ‘tenant enquiry levels across all of our 19 branches have majorly increased, but unfortunately there is quite a shortage of housing.’
The renting situation is very complicated for those relocating as they only have a maximum of five flats to choose from on the agency’s website. The rest have been let, with the applicant immediately offering the full asking price and a holding deposit. ‘The tenants are not hiding their anxiousness’, says Anita Mehra, the managing director at Benham and Reeves.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however, particularly for buy-to-let investors. It is individuals within this particular sphere who are witnessing their rental properties being snapped up quickly and thus, they do not have large void periods with their properties lying vacant. Maximum financial returns and tenanted properties around the clock.
The agency holds the theory that London is ‘now a landlord’s market’ for investors due to the ‘uneven distribution between supply and demand.’ For them, this is the perfect time to secure a buy-to-let (BTL) property and have their portfolios flourish. There’s even more good news for BTL investors: rental prices are rising to pre-pandemic levels, up to 9% higher.
The competition within the rental market means tenancy renewals remain at a record breaking high. It is not uncommon to see more than 70% of existing tenancies extended because of the tiny selection of properties they are able to pick from.