The London property market
The demand to live in London is at an all-time high. Lettings Managing Director Alex Harrington explains why more people are looking to live in the capital than ever before.
Market update
The first half of 2021 has seen an extremely active lettings market with lots of interest in central London and a noticeable resurgence of international relocators plus students returning in vast numbers. With three times as many tenancies being agreed per week compared with the same time last year and renewals at an all time high, Dexters now have over 36,000 tenants registered looking for a London home.
Alex explains “The number of tenants looking to move through us has grown significantly. We are currently arranging over 45,000 viewings per month across London and these numbers are increasing daily. This is proving that given the choice, tenants want to view properties in the flesh and use a trusted agent.
Although we did have to adapt our working practices to maintain social distancing by providing virtual viewings, the internet has not replaced the importance of human contact in property transactions. With 35 strategically positioned offices across London and 12 in the most desirable prime central London locations including Mayfair, Marylebone, Kensington and Chelsea & Belgravia, we are well positioned to meet the needs of our clients and offer a fantastic selection of property across the capital.”
Pent up demand is the reason behind much of this accelerated activity and is creating a shortage of supply in the market. Alex explains “This competition is pushing prices back up and we predict that lettings values will continue to rise as we head towards the end of the year, as rents are returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Our primary aim is to deliver the best results for our client and we work hard to attract great tenants. We make sure that we don’t have any empty properties and our average void period now stands at less than one per cent for the 27,000 Landlords we work in partnership with. As a result of this, over 1,000 new Landlords are trusting us with their properties every month. The lack of supply is encouraging long term tenancies which is our speciality and we make sure our tenants are well looked after, so they don’t need to go anywhere else.
We work closely in partnership with Wetherell, Mayfair’s leading agent, and have been helping ‘super prime’ tenants find townhouses, historic houses, and mews cottages, at rents ranging from from £1,500 to £40,000 per week. These are demanding tenants, but they typically take on a property for three to five years, and sometimes longer.
Our Corporate Services and International Relocation team have been especially busy assisting investors, global blue-chip companies, institutions and embassies who are moving their staff to London and many of whom use Dexters exclusively for all their property needs.
Some of our well-known clients include Facebook, BP and Amazon. There is a noticeable resurgence of international relocators as we receive on average 200 new enquiries per week because of our outstanding reach across London.”
Alex continues “As the lettings market continues to thrive and shows no signs of slowing down, we expect a busy end to the year. With property prices having tripled in the last 20 years, we predict property values to continue rising over the next decade. Our Landlords understand that London property remains a brilliant investment and we are here to support them throughout the duration of their property journey.
Our tenants and Landlords are supported by Dexters award-winning Property Management team and are reassured the Property Managers are never more than 15 minutes away. This ensures Dexters provide a rapid response to any issue that may arise. Over 200 Property Managers work in our London offices caring for both individual houses and flats as well as whole blocks, estates and portfolios.”
Dexters Lettings teams have already broken all records this year and we continue to grow our business by investing in our people and our offices. This is an exciting time for the London property market and we look forward to being part of it and delivering a five-star service to our clients.
If you are considering selling or letting your property or would like an update on your local market, we would be delighted to assist. Please click the link to make contact with your local Dexters office.