Average rent for London reaches record high of £2,500 per month

Average asking rents in London have surpassed £2,500 for the first time as the supply of housing continues to be outstripped by demand.

Market pressures have made house hunting in the capital fiercely competitive, with estate agents taking a very high volume of inquiries for every property they list.

Figures released by property website Rightmove show average rent for London reached a new record of £2,501 per month in the first quarter of 2023.

That's about £1,300 more than the average asking rent for homes outside of the capital, which also hit a record high of £1,190.

Researchers say the pace of the increases generally across Britain has been slowing, with some early signs of gap between supply and demand starting to narrow.

However it may be some time before this is felt by renters in London, many of whom are being forced to outbid each other to secure tenancies.

Rightmove said there is a particular gab between supply and demand in the terraced houses sector.

The sites director of property science Tim Bannister said: “We have seen some early signs of improvement on squeezed supply levels this year, though with no significant influx of new properties becoming available to rent currently on the horizon, the mismatch is set to continue for some time.

“Many agents are having to manage a very high volume of tenant inquiries for every property that they let in the current market.

“Properties in popular areas within an affordable asking rent range of that local area are likely to be snapped up almost immediately, and on average homes are finding a tenant much more quickly than this time in 2019.

“Although there are some early signs that the gap between supply and demand is starting to narrow a little, it will still feel very competitive for tenants trying to secure a home.”

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