Prime London rents rose by 10.9% across 2022, lettings index shows
An ongoing imbalance between demand and supply is expected to continue to drive rental growth, Savills said.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rents at the top end of the London market ended 2022 10.9% higher than when the year started, according to an estate and lettings agent.
Demand from tenants is continuing to significantly outweigh supply, Savills said.
Jessica Tomlinson, research analyst at Savills, said: “The ongoing imbalance between demand and supply is expected to continue to drive rental growth.
“However, the sheer scale of rental growth over the past two years does somewhat limit the capacity for further significant increases, and over time we expect to see the balance between supply and demand gradually restored.”
Smaller properties in lower price bands now tend to be outperforming larger, more expensive rental homes, Savills added.
Ms Tomlinson said: “Rental properties at the top end of the market are dictated largely by discretionary spending.
“The market is certainly less frantic than it was during the middle of 2022, and now prime tenants feel they can bide their time to see how the next couple of months play out, which is translating into slightly slower levels of growth.
“However, our agents agree that young professionals and corporate demand continue to make up the bulk of demand, and we can expect these ‘needs-based’ tenants to continue to drive up competition in the early part of 2023.”