Data from London agency Portico suggests rents dipped 1.7 per cent during the May to July period, covering six weeks leading up to the EU referendum and a similar period afterwards.
Some areas showed rental increases, however - for example, two bedroom properties in Kensington and Chelsea rose slightly by 0.4 per cent, while Westminster’s average rents have risen by 1.7 per cent.
Meanwhile Knight Frank, looking at prime central London, says lettings transactions have risen post-referendum but rent levels are down.
The agency says the number of tenancies agreed in the three months to June (a period with only a week after the vote) rose three per cent against the same period of 2015; viewings increased by 15.8 per cent.
But annual rents fell 3.6 per cent in the year to the end of July, some five weeks after the vote; prime gross rental yields were flat at 3.1 per cent.
Tim Hyatt, head of lettings at Knight Frank, says despite this the picture is relatively stable.
“We saw a spike in new instructions in the aftermath of the referendum although the number of new applicants registering is slightly down creating an imbalance of supply and demand. The number of corporate enquiries was encouragingly positive as it was dramatically up on last year, highlighting that confidence in London as a capital city of choice remains strong” he says.
But he warns that landlords need to be realistic when it comes to pricing as they are operating in ”an increasingly competitive market.”
* If you want to read more about Brexit and its impact on agency and the wider property industry, see Marc Da Silva’s articles on Brexit and the Northern Powerhouse and What will happen to the housing market if Britain leaves the EU?
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