October Rental Analysis

2021-11-10

Industry News

We have been collecting data on the type of enquiries we are getting. This is giving us a more in-depth view of the rental market and trends that we see month on month. We have collected together the data to help clearly explain what we have understood for the October rental market. 

Over the month of October, Crown Home Lettings achieved great results. Benefiting from increased exposure across YouTube, Rightmove and our website, as well as the Xiaohongshu platform, which was set up in mid-August and has helped in increasing the volume of recent enquiries with great success.
A compilation of the October rental analysis report is below so that whether you are a landlord or a tenant, you can have a better understanding of the recent rental market in London.

01
Report summary
According to the data collected from our three main rental platforms (Xiaohongshu,  Rightmove, the largest rental website in the UK, and the CHBL official website), the number of effective tenant enquiries for October was 150. Of this, 66% were international students and 34% were professionals.

Using the data collected, the current rental demand from applicants divides the London market into three regions: Central London, Canary Wharf, and Southwest London; enquiries from these three regions accounted for 74%, 22% and 4%.

There is no doubt that the zone 1 area in London has the highest demand in the market. However, Canary Wharf, with its own location advantages and being a world-class Central Business District, has stood out with a high demand for rental units in the area.

02
Demand analysis 

In the Centre of London, the main areas that applicants focus on are the City of London, Waterloo, Holborn, Kensington and London Bridge.

Student applicants are mainly from the surrounding universities such as Kings College, the London College of Communications and LCC and London College of Fashion. With the majority of working professional applicants being based in the City of London.

In contrast, applicants looking to live in the Canary Wharf area are more specific with their property development requirements. For example, Landmark Pinnacle gains lots of attention from international students with its high, cost-effective rental price and famous landmark status. Hampton Tower (South Quay Plaza), attracts a large number of corporate professionals as well as, some international students, due to its prime Canary Wharf location and luxurious apartment facilities. 

When it comes to the length of leases applicants want, 86.4% of applicants are looking for leases ranging from 6 to 12 months. 

For move-in times of the year, it is consistent with previous data analysed. 44.6% of applicants are looking to move in by November and 33% are looking to move in by December. However, there is currently a shortage of properties available on the rental market and so, many December applicants are flexible and are also looking for move-in dates for January 2022.

Applicants were looking for apartment sizes that were either one or two bedrooms. For the month of October, the demand for two-bedroom apartments was slightly higher, accounting for 44% of the total enquiries and 41% of enquiries for one-bedroom apartments (excluding Studios).

The data also suggests that with the easing of the UK's COVID-19 restrictions, the applicant's attitudes towards apartment sizes have changed as well, and two-bedroom apartment popularity has regained its pre-pandemic status. This could also be due to residents looking for a home office due to working remotely remaining a popular choice. 
 
Finally, in terms of applicant budget; for one-bedroom apartments, the budget ranges from £425 per week to £850 per week, with an average budget of £603 per week. For two-bedroom apartments, the budget ranges from £580 per week to £2,000 per week, with an average of £876 per week. Although the budget range between different apartment types is large, the performance of the average budget is in line with the market rental.

03
Outlook

It is clear that the shift in attitude towards the COVID-19 pandemic has also led to a shift in applicant needs. Although, some applicants still have budget expectations similar to what we saw at the height of the pandemic. Fear not! There is hope that rental prices are on the rise and will return to pre-pandemic levels. This is supported by the fact that since the peak in rental prices in August this year, the rent level has still kept a relatively high baseline. The current housing shortage has meant that some applicants are unable to now move until the beginning of 2022. This coincides with numerous different development buildings completing in Central London and Canary Wharf. 

So fingers crossed we get the new year off to a great start with another rental peak for the beginning of 2022!