The capital’s prime sales and lettings markets saw multiple records broken during June as demand continued to build ahead of the stamp duty holiday deadline and the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Lettings
The latest data and market analysis from Knight Frank has revealed that the number of new prospective tenants registering reached the highest level on record, as did the number of viewings.
Compared to 2019, which was an active year in the lettings market, the number of viewings was 82% higher in the month of June, the number of new prospective tenants was 97% higher. Although UK lockdown restrictions have not yet been fully relaxed, the figures underline the extent to which demand has built during successive national lockdowns.
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “The prime lettings market in London and the Home Counties is on the verge of a notable escalation in activity. Demand is getting stronger as supply normalises, which means upwards pressure on rental values. And that is before the relaxation of international travel restrictions.”
The combination of relaxed restrictions and seasonality could produce a bottleneck during August and September as demand from corporate tenants and students picks up.
The weekly number of enquiries from corporate relocation agents reached its highest level since September at the end of June in a sign of how activity is rising. The lettings market is already feeling the effect of workers planning for their return to the office, a trend which we analysed here.
Meanwhile, the number of students looking for lettings properties is rising, although uncertainty over the extent to which Universities will teach face-to-face, as well as travel restrictions, means demand is on hold in many cases.
Addressing the issue of a potential bottleneck later this year, UK immigration minister Kevin Foster last week confirmed that visa concession…