Activity across the prime London lettings market remained low in March and rental growth stabilised after recent increases, LonRes data shows.
Figures from the data platform for March indicate an annual decrease of 34.2% in lets agreed and a 23.5% decrease in new instructions, with activity on both measures remaining well below pre-pandemic levels.
The stock of available rental properties decreased on an annual basis, with 16.0% fewer homes on the market across prime London at the end of March than a year earlier. As noted previously these measured activity levels may overstate the true falls as fewer rental properties are being advertised, be that on LonRes or other sources including public facing portals.
Annual rental growth in March was 4.9%, down from a revised 6.2% in February but still part of a wider trend of rises over the past year. Rents across prime London are now 33.3% above their 2017-2019 (pre-pandemic) average.
Broken down by sub-market, rental growth is in general behaving similarly across LonRes’ core catchments, but inner prime has been the best performer in 2025 so far.
Covering neighbourhoods such as Notting Hill and Marylebone, annual rental growth in inner prime in March was 7.3%, the highest in this area since November 2023. All areas are recording higher growth compared to 2024, but well down on the levels of 20+% seen in early 2022.
Nick Gregori, head of research for LonRes, said: “Unlike the volatility seen in the sales market, prime London lettings has been consistent so far in 2025. Low levels of new instructions are limiting activity, with the usual caveat that many deals are taking place without the properties being marketed. Annual rental growth was 4.9% in March, with our inner prime catchment recording the largest rise this year.”
