London’s rental market appears to be retuning to some kind of normality according to new data from LonRes.

The average time it takes them to let has fallen sharply – from 87 days in June 2021 to just 44 days in June 2022.  

While the time to let has fallen across all properties, there are some clear trends in how long it takes to let depending on the rental price, location, and type of property.

More expensive rental properties have always taken longer to let than those lower down the rental price distribution.  And while the time it takes more expensive properties (£1,000-plus per week) to let has fallen, it has not dropped as quickly as it has for less expensive properties.  

The average time to let a property with a weekly rent of £1,000 or above has fallen from 108 days in June 2021 to just 62 days in June 2022.  However, the time to let a property with a weekly rent under £500 has fallen from 81 days last year to just 34 days this year.

This pattern is also reflected in location and property types.  

LonRes data for June 2022 shows properties in Prime Fringe let more quickly than those in Prime Central London (36 days and 53 days respectively) while flats (42 days) let more quickly than houses (57 days) – although this last trend was reversed during the middle of last year when houses (82 days) were letting more quickly than flats (88 days).

Looking ahead the autumn is a traditionally busy time for the rental market.  With increasing numbers of international students and other residents returning to the capital we could see rents rise further through the rest of the year as a lack of rental homes available puts more pressure on prospective tenants to adjust their price expectations upwards.