London rent price rise 2015 defies traditional Autumn slow down
London rents continued to climb in October, up 0.8 per cent, hitting an average of £2,063 despite the seasonal slowdown usually associated with Autumn months.
The data suggests that London’s housing shortage, falling unemployment rate, and growing pay is the cause, according to the analytics company MIAC in its monthly Landbay Rental Index.
So far this year the only decrease in average rents came between June and August, before increasing again in September, up 0.7 per cent.
This is the second year the trend has been bucked, with rents in 2014 rising every month except July, when they fell by just 0.1 per cent.
The typically autumn seasonal slowdown in the rental market is caused by lower student tenant demand, first jobbers moving for work, and contracts ending after the previous year’s summer rush.
MIAC suggests the shift shows that the London private rental sector is seeing a period of consistently high demand and insufficient supply of properties.
John Goodall, co-founder and CEO of Landbay said: “The simple fact is that more people are renting for longer and there aren’t enough properties to meet demand.”
“With London’s economy going from strength-to-strength, people are willing to compete for rental properties, pushing up prices,” he added.
This latest research follows a slew of reports suggesting the London housing crisis is still in full swing, with the property bubble nowhere near bursting.
Research from the Centre for London think-tank found that in two years time senior nurses and teachers will be priced out of the Greater London housing market.
“A lot of national policies are not addressing London problems,” said Kat Hanna, research manager at the Centre for London, adding that those unable to afford housing also included “doctors, solicitors and journalists”.
For those London renters that are hoping to get on the housing ladder the news is equally bleak.
Price-comparison website Gocompare recently found first-time buyers need a minimum salary of £140,000, while the median average salary is just £30,338.