Saturday, March 31, 2007

Rental prices in London are soaring

Rental prices in London are soaring thanks to a severe shortage of suitable properties and an increasing number of prospective tenants entering the market.

The residential agent Hamptons International reveals that rents in the capital have increased by some 18 per cent over the past 12 months as the high cost of purchasing a home forces thousands of prospective buyers into rented accommodation.

It said that one-bedroom flats in city centre locations are in such short supply that properties are being let within hours of them being vacated.

And in many cases tenants are entering into bidding wars in the hope of getting their hands on the property, forcing prices up even further.

Rosanna Caldwell, senior manager at Hamptons International's Kensington branch, said: "We are witnessing offers considerably over the asking price, with tenants increasing original offers, in an attempt to seal the deal.

"With a massive shortage of one bedroom flats available for rent those that do come to the market are being let within hours, securing phenomenal prices."

It is not just rental prices that are rocketing in London. A lack of housing supply in the capital is causing sales prices to expand at an annual rate of 22 per cent compared to less than five per cent in the north of England, according to the property website Rightmove.

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