Wandsworth Rental Market Update

Here's the latest rental market update for Wandsworth & surrounding area and it makes interesting reading. One thing is for sure demand is greater than supply in this current market, the shortage of stock means that properties are renting out quickly because of tenant demand. It's great that everything we have on the market is under offer and it's also frustrating that we are registering good quality tenants and we don’t have more listings for them to match their criteria.

What we have found during the (Q1) first quarter is the number of re-lets, have shot up by 65%, compared to (Q1) of last year. It seems that tenants have become increasingly anxious now they are working from home they prefer bigger places to include outside space. And considering this is a - tenants market - it does make economic sense, for them, to move out of their existing property and get a bigger place for the same rent they were paying before covid. This has been evidenced in our applicant registrations where a tenant living in a studio or a Manhattan flat before covid is now paying the same rent for a 1 bedroom apartment. This also rings true for the Ram Quarter development in Wandsworth where 2 bedroom flats now rent the same as a 1 bed flat before covid. This trend took shape in the last (Q4) of 2020.

Due to the lack of supply over demand the rent falls have slowed down and it's now more likely they will stabilise as we head into the (Q2) and if the economy recovers as expected, annual rent will likely resume growth in 2022.

Tenant demand is one thing, but when you find them just after one viewing that's even better. One of our landlords was very happy when we found him a tenant for his 2 bedroom flat in Putney which was achieving £1,500pcm before covid. And we still got him the same rent after the first viewing - this doesn't happen that often, but when it does it's great. And please note that in today's market this is more the "exception rather than the rule."

Things Are Looking Up!!

So the picture in the (Q1) of 2021 apart from the low supply is looking up, rents are stabilising after falling up to 10% from their pre-covid highs. There are now more relocation agents who have applicants registered on their books, which is refreshing to see. And we expect tenant registrations and demand to continue to be strong as we head into the (Q2).

Previous Wandsworth Rental Market Blog

In our previous rental market blog entitled Wandsworth Rental Market Trends back in August the article focused on concerns based upon further lockdowns. However, those concerns raised didn't come home too roost. We are now beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel as restrictions are slowly being lifted. The government, somewhat, addressed unemployment issue(s) by extending furlough schemes and provided government backed loans for businesses. The ramifications or knock on effects of a third lockdown hasn't hit the rental market in Wandsworth as much as it did during the first one.

This is because the property industry was allowed to continue trading after the first lockdown and please revert to our blog back in August entitled: Wandsworth Rental Market Trends to find out how the first lockdown affected rental prices in Wandsworth & surrounding areas in a negative way.

Now we have the vaccination programme which has really taken off in a positive way it does bode well for the future. Hopefully we can return to some semblance of normality in the not-too-distant future.

We can offer you a market appraisal in today's market, to see what your home will sell or rent for in less than 5 seconds, just click the link to find out more: Current Desktop Appraisal