End of lockdown and decade-low rents entice Londoners back to the city
Londoners that left the capital during coronavirus lockdowns are heading back to the capital as the city begins to open up again.
Rents in central London locations have declined sharply during the pandemic, as Londoners left the city and lockdown saw fewer people moving to the capital for work.
However that trend looks set to reverse as renters seek inner London homes to make the most of what the city has to offer when normality resumes after more than a year of lockdowns and restrictions during the pandemic.
Viewings for central London homes jumped 46 per cent compared to the same month in 2019, before the pandemic hit the UK, according to Bloomberg, citing Hamptons International research.
The interest in central London neighbourhoods is partially being driven by rental prices falling to a 10-year low.
The latest research by property platform Zoopla showed that demand has ticked up since lockdown restrictions have lifted – by seven per cent in inner London – prices are at the most affordable level in a decade.
Rental prices in London are down 9.4 per cent, which is in part fuelling the bounce back in demand.
Average rents in Canada, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster are at their lowest level since 2011.
The average price of a rental property in Westminster is currently running at £2,259 per month, down from £2,616 a month in February last year.