Rents recovering in Wandsworth

It seems that rents are showing positive signs of recovery in the Wandsworth & SW London area indeed rent rises seen in recent months have been driven by increased taxes and regulations imposed on landlords. Notwithstanding the fact that this is a simple case of demand and supply with demand outstripping supply.

In addition, Landlords must account for increased costs which mean increased costs for tenants. Some landlords have exited the market whilst the stamp duty holiday has stimulated the sales market, impacting the stock level. And contributed to an increase in rental values for the buy to let market.

Increased cost + regulation = Landlords exiting market = less properties + more demand = higher rent, basic maths, not rocket science! 

Government policies have contributed to the above formulae whose focus has remained on homeownership and over legislating landlords who in turn have had to pay for the spiralling costs. The irony of the matter is those that they seeked to protect i.e. the tenants are now having to pay for it.

On a macro level HomeLet’s latest figures show the average UK rent now stands at a record £1,007 per calendar month - the highest ever. That is up 5.9 per cent on the same time last year and up 7.0 per cent on this time two years ago.

London sees its first price increase for over a year, with an annual rise of 1.5 per cent to £1,607 pcm - although this is still lower than pre-covid, when the average was £1,611 back in June 2019.

What about our local market of good old Wandsworth & Its surrounding area?

Well, here's another reason why rents in the area are starting to rise ... and that is due to the seasonal time of year, that's right you guessed it Summer time, if you can call it that!!

We have just come out of the second quarter (Q2) and are heading into the peak season for lettings i.e. the third quarter (Q3) always a good time to let anything with outside space. This was evidenced when we re-let 2 x 2 bedroom period apartments, which form part of the same building in Tooting. Both came back on the market in May and both achieved full asking price plus a 3.8% and 4% increase on the previous rents. We still get enquiries for these properties even though they are listed as under offer. The demand for any property with outside space this time of year is such that you can and will get good rent.

Given the time of year I am valuing properties with a more bullish approach

as there are many corporate tenant(s) entering the market with better budgets, than the norm, via relocation agents who we work with. This means now is a good time to put your property on the market and attract corporate tenant(s). Any property with outside space and in good condition especially 3 and 4 bedroom houses will carry a premium for this time of year. They hold a higher intrinsic value to families and corporate tenant(s) who want to settle in an area to accommodate their; lifestyles, careers and their children’s education.      

I urge any landlord who have these types of properties to contact us immediately we will offer good competitive rates for letting your property and get you the best rent available in today’s market!!

Moving forward I can only see the rental market in Wandsworth improving and recovering well from its ill fortunes of last year.  The various factors mentioned above including government regulation are the main reasons.