London-focussed agency Foxtons says there is a part of the capital which is seeing an average of 38 prospective tenants for every rental unit that comes on the market. 

The agency says rents are up 11 per cent over the past year, driven by a surge in demand during August as those returning from holiday started home searches just at the same time as students were looking for autumn homes too.

Overall across London the average number registering their interest is 23 per new rental instruction overall but in East London this hits a stellar 38 per property.

Foxtons says its analysis of Zoopla data reveals some 35,000 new properties coming onto the rental market, an eight per cent increase year on year, but still well below the rise in demand. 

“August remained in line with our expectations and there was gradual, steady market growth throughout the year. Compared to July, demand rose, supply fell and prices remained consistently high” says Gareth Atkins, managing director of lettings at Foxtons. 

“But competition was not nearly as frenetic as it was in 2022 and as such. Across our office network, we continue to see more landlords requesting our management service to protect their asset from a financial and compliance perspective.”