Introduction
Welcome to the September 2018 volume of London Rent Watch; our data tracker of the residential lettings market in London, with a detailed view of the private rental sector in our six core market areas in South and West London – Chelsea, Hammersmith, Fulham, Clapham, Balham and Putney.
The objective is to keep landlords and tenants in these boroughs informed of the ongoing changes in private rental sector. At the end of each calendar month we publish live, up-to-date data on average rental values, broken down by property type and size.
Summary
The monthly variance in residential rental values from September to September 2018 comes against a backdrop of falling supply across the London region. Our sample of 59,549 properties was -13.4% lower than in the month of August.
This fall in supply has increased the mean average letting value in the capital month-on-month by +4.3%, whilst the median value increased 2.2%, suggesting that monthly growth has been fuelled more by the premium end of the market compared with low and mid
market properties.
Contents
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London Rental Values
12 Month Variance
Rental values across London cooled once again in the last 12 months, with the
ONS reporting an annual decrease of -0.3%, unchanged from the previous month. This is the largest annual contraction in values since September 2010, when the figure was -0.4%.
With letting values in Britain as a whole rising 0.9% in the same period, and the UK excluding the capital up 1.5%, London is once again the only region where annual rental values are falling.
One Month Variance
London as a whole saw the average asking rent increase from August to September, against a backdrop of falling supply. This was most prominent in the mean average, so growth in letting values has been greater for houses and apartments at the upper end of the market. Whilst one bedroom properties contracted slightly, monthly growth was stronger relative to the number of bedrooms beyond this.
Headline Rent Values in London – September 2018
SAMPLE SIZE: 59,549 properties (-13.4% monthly)
| LONDON |
August 2018 |
September 2018 |
Monthly Change |
| Mean Average Rental Value |
£3,023 pcm |
£3,153 pcm |
+4.3% |
| Median Average Rental Value |
£1,950 pcm |
£1,993 pcm |
+2.2% |
Rent Values by Bedrooms in London – September 2018
| LONDON |
% of sample |
Mean Average rent |
Monthly Change |
Median Average rent |
Monthly Change |
| One bedroom |
27% |
£1,922 pcm |
-0.7% |
£1,550 pcm |
-2.0% |
| Two bedrooms |
42% |
£2,777 pcm |
+1.2% |
£2,102 pcm |
0% |
| Three bedrooms |
20% |
£4,478 pcm |
+3.3% |
£2,825 pcm |
+2.6% |
| Four bedrooms |
8% |
£5,281 pcm |
+2.4% |
£3,098 pcm |
+2.1% |
| Five bedrooms |
3% |
£8,562 pcm |
+8% |
£5,070 pcm |
+12.7% |
Rent Values by Property Type in London – September 2018
| LONDON |
% of sample |
Mean Average rent |
Monthly Change |
Median Average rent |
Monthly Change |
| Room |
6% |
£750 pcm |
+0.6% |
£693 pcm |
-0.7% |
| Flat |
92% |
£2,984 pcm |
+3.9% |
£1,993 pcm |
+2.2% |
| House |
2% |
£4,922 pcm |
+4.1% |
£2,600 pcm |
0% |
Chelsea Residential Rental Values
SAMPLE SIZE: 4341 properties (-10% monthly)
One Month Variance
In Chelsea, a 10% fall in supply fuelled strong growth in asking rents, driven largely by one bedroom flats and single room lets, which together represented one quarter of the market. Larger properties posted slight falls in rental value over the month, particularly with four or more bedrooms, representing a cooling period following strong growth during August.
Overall, rental growth in Chelsea was seen in all market segments, with slightly higher growth rates nearer the premium end of the market.
Headline Rent Values in Chelsea – September 2018
| CHELSEA |
August 2018 |
September 2018 |
Monthly Change |
| Mean Average Rental Value |
£6,119 pcm |
£6,463 pcm |
+5.6% |
| Median Average Rental Value |
£3,423 pcm |
£3,575 pcm |
+4.4% |
Rent Values by Bedrooms in Chelsea – September 2018
Rent Values by Property Type in Chelsea – September 2018
| CHELSEA |
% of sample |
Mean Average rent |
Monthly Change |
| Room |
1% |
£1,036 pcm |
+4.5% |
| Flat |
88% |
£5,317 pcm |
+5.5% |
| House |
11% |
£15,513 pcm |
+2.9% |
Hammersmith Residential Rental Values
SAMPLE SIZE: 2156 properties (-12.8% monthly)
One Month Variance
Following modest growth in August, Hammersmith rental values took a significant jump during August, posting double-digit mean average growth. Whilst growth was recorded across all property sizes; three, four and particularly five bedroom homes were the driving force behind the performance in this borough.
Accordingly, single room let values contracted slightly, whilst flats and houses both showed robust growth in values during the month.
Headline Rent Values in Hammersmith – September 2018
| HAMMERSMITH |
August 2018 |
September 2018 |
Monthly Change |
| Mean Average Rental Value |
£3,117 pcm |
£3,467 pcm |
+11.2% |
| Median Average Rental Value |
£2,600 pcm |
£2,773 pcm |
+6.7% |
Rent Values by Bedrooms in Hammersmith – September 2018
Rent Values by Property Type in Hammersmith – September 2018
| HAMMERSMITH |
% of sample |
Mean Average rent |
Monthly Change |
| Room |
3% |
£850 pcm |
-1.2% |
| Flat |
90% |
£3,203 pcm |
+10.9% |
| House |
7% |
£7,368 pcm |
+9% |
Fulham Residential Rental Values
SAMPLE SIZE: 2175 properties (-18.7% monthly)
One Month Variance
Having remained flat during August, rental values in Fulham increased at a steady rate during September. This was more prominent in the low and mid-market segments, due in part to a fall in supply of almost one fifth.
All property types and sizes recorded growth with no single standout area, with the exception of single rooms which fell in value during the period.
Headline Rent Values in Fulham – September 2018
| FULHAM |
August 2018 |
September 2018 |
Monthly Change |
| Mean Average Rental Value |
£3,094 pcm |
£3,210 pcm |
+3.7% |
| Median Average Rental Value |
£2,383 pcm |
£2,492 pcm |
+4.6% |
Rent Values by Bedrooms in Fulham – September 2018
| FULHAM |
% of sample |
Mean Average rent |
Monthly Change |
| One bedroom |
24% |
£2,016 pcm |
+1.8% |
| Two bedrooms |
45% |
£2,867 pcm |
+2.7% |
| Three bedrooms |
20% |
£4,263 pcm |
+4.1% |
| Four bedrooms |
7% |
£5,883 pcm |
+0.4% |
| Five bedrooms |
4% |
£8,373 pcm |
+2.7% |
Rent Values by Property Type in Fulham – September 2018
| FULHAM |
% of sample |
Mean Average rent |
Monthly Change |
| Room |
3% |
£886 pcm |
-4% |
| Flat |
84% |
£2,752 pcm |
+3.3% |
| House |
13% |
£6,707 pcm |
+2.6% |
Clapham (Lambeth) Residential Rental Values
SAMPLE SIZE: 760 properties (-12.1% monthly)
One Month Variance
Clapham’s rental values fell from August to September, due mostly to decreases in asking rents for one and three bedroom flats, which together accounted for around 40% of the market.
All other property types and sizes posted growth, especially in single room lets, but neither this nor the relatively small drop in supply were able to offset the downward pressure from small flats.
Headline Rent Values in Clapham – September 2018
| CLAPHAM |
August 2018 |
September 2018 |
Monthly Change |
| Mean Average Rental Value |
£2,183 pcm |
£2,112 pcm |
-3.2% |
| Median Average Rental Value |
£1,820 pcm |
£1,798 pcm |
-1.2% |
Rent Values by Bedrooms in Clapham – September 2018
Rent Values by Property Type in Clapham – September 2018
| CLAPHAM |
% of sample |
Mean Average rent |
Monthly Change |
| Room |
4% |
£743 pcm |
+4.9% |
| Flat |
82% |
£1,937 pcm |
-1.4% |
| House |
14% |
£3,719 pcm |
+1.3% |
Balham (Wandsworth) Residential Rental Values
SAMPLE SIZE: 580 properties (-12.3% monthly)
One Month Variance
Rental values in Balham for September 2018 were mixed, resulting in a mostly unchanged environment overall. Single room lets decreased in price significantly, whilst three bedroom properties posted the strongest growth in asking rent. Coupled with the relatively low fall in supply compared with other boroughs, Balham’s rental market was seen as stable and unchanged during the month.
Headline Rent Values in Balham – September 2018
| BALHAM |
August 2018 |
September 2018 |
Monthly Change |
| Mean Average Rental Value |
£2,228 pcm |
£2,233 pcm |
+0.2% |
| Median Average Rental Value |
£1,850 pcm |
£1,842 pcm |
-0.4% |
Rent Values by Bedrooms in Balham – September 2018
Rent Values by Property Type in Balham – September 2018
| BALHAM |
% of sample |
Mean Average rent |
Monthly Change |
| Room |
3% |
£691 pcm |
-7.2% |
| Flat |
73% |
£1,795 pcm |
-0.9% |
| House |
24% |
£3,754 pcm |
-0.1% |
Putney (Wandsworth) Residential Rental Values
SAMPLE SIZE: 3018 properties (-25% monthly)
One Month Variance
The significance of a 25% drop in supply in Putney’s rental market during September yielded robust growth in rental values.
Two and three bedroom flats and houses, accounting for 65% of the market, posted stable and sustained growth rates. Meanwhile five bedroom properties, making up just 5% of the market, posted an extraordinary 48% increase in asking rents. Elsewhere, single room lets were largely unchanged in value over the month.
Headline Rent Values in Putney – September 2018
| PUTNEY |
August 2018 |
September 2018 |
Monthly Change |
| Mean Average Rental Value |
£3,022 pcm |
£3,151 pcm |
+4.3% |
| Median Average Rental Value |
£2,350 pcm |
£2,383 pcm |
+1.5% |
Rent Values by Bedrooms in Putney – September 2018
Rent Values by Property Type in Putney – September 2018
| PUTNEY |
% of sample |
Mean Average rent |
Monthly Change |
| Room |
3% |
£812 pcm |
0% |
| Flat |
83% |
£2,925 pcm |
+5.4% |
| House |
14% |
£4,896 pcm |
+3.1% |
About the Data & Methodology
Data Sourcing
The data in our Rent Watch tracker is a live to-the-minute snapshot of residential rental values, aggregated from the UK’s most comprehensive database of current asking rental values on
home.co.uk. We collect the data for London as a whole, and for each of our six focus areas in South and West London – Chelsea, Hammersmith, Fulham, Clapham, Balham and Putney.
This month’s data was compiled on 28th September 2018.
Methodology
The data is first broken down by property type and by the number of bedrooms, with each of these groups expressed as a percentage of the sample size for each location.
The
mean average rental value is calculated by dividing the sum of all rental values in the sample y the number of properties in that sample.
The
median average rental value is calculated by arranging every rental value in the sample from smallest to largest, and selecting the single value for which 50% of the values are above and 50% are below.
The
monthly variance is expressed as a percentage increase or decrease from the data we collected in the previous month, to show a monthly change in rental values within the given sample.
