London rents rise 5% in four months
12-02-2015
Breaking News
London rental values have increased by 5% in the four months to October 2015, it has been revealed.
According to figures released by the Rentify Property Index, the average rental price of a property stood at £1,402 in the summer, but by October this rose to £1,467.
This significant increase in rent over a short period of time has demonstrated that the Chancellor George Osborne’s July buy-to-let tax hike is already impacting property prices in the capital.
Greenwich was named the area with the largest rise in average monthly rents, increasing by £338, hitting £1,397pcm. There has been a large influx of students moving into the aforementioned area in the last couple of months, which is likely to be the main attribution for the pronounced increase.
London boroughs Brent and Newham also experienced high rent hikes in the four months to October 2015; £201 and £197 respectively.
However, Wandsworth, Kingston-upon-Thames and the City of London have all experienced a dip in prices in recent months, likely to be due to seasonality in the market.
Rentify CEO George Spencer said: “High cost of rent in central London is continuing to drive people away to outer boroughs in search of affordable housing. This however means that these so called cheaper locations are seeing a remarkable rise in rent due to their popularity. They are hot on the heels with Central London due to strong demands.
“Furthermore, the recent buy-to-let tax hike introduced by the Chancellor will further constrain supply as less people invest in property to rent, making life increasingly hard for Londoners,” he added.