Since June 2021 the Prime Central London lettings market has risen by 30% in terms of the volume of prospective tenants, viewings are up 70% and PCL rental values have risen by 1% above pre-pandemic levels, which has led to rental supply levels dropped by 40%: these are the key findings of the latest lettings survey by leading boutique estate agent Rokstone.

To produce its 2021 Central London lettings survey Rokstone looked at viewings and deals data from its own lettings department data, alongside supporting information from LONRES and local market intelligence. Rokstone classify a Prime London Rental as a property being let for above £2,500 per week and a Super-Prime Rental as a property being let for over £5,000 per week.

Rokstone reveal that the top five “lettings hot-spot” locations in Central London in terms of volume of applicants and deals in rank order are Marylebone, followed by Belgravia, then Notting Hill, Chelsea and Mayfair. The most popular lettings instructions can command anything from 12-18 applicants per property with the best properties able to let in anything between 24-48 hours, with the average listing letting within several weeks.

Rokstone highlight that the PCL lettings market, in particular the Super-Prime rental market, is extremely product led with the most desirable rental properties being turn-key dressed houses with outside space that typically let for £5,000 to £7,500 per week, followed by lateral apartments of between 3,000 sqft to 5,000 sqft in size, crucially with outside balconies or terraces, which can command rents of £5,000 to £10,000 per week. Properties that are either new build or newly refurbished and have the benefit of porterage and parking are in the highest demand.

Rokstone say that in the Super-Prime lettings market the key tenants in Prime Central London are families or couples with the largest tenant groups for properties to let above £5,000 per week by country of origin in rank order are domestic UK tenants, followed by American tenants, then applicants from the United Arab Emirates, India, Russia, France and Spain.

Rokstone highlight that many of these tenants are already residing in London and have used the lockdown easing to “upgrade” to larger properties, especially those providing outside relaxation space.

Rokstone say that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the volume of lettings transactions in the Prime London lettings market dropped by 25-30%. During the first six months of 2021 as the pandemic eased, the vaccine rollout took place and the return to office working and international flights gradually resumed the lettings market stabilised, and since June 2021 the lettings market has strongly rebounded and returned to its pre-COVID-19 bouyant levels.

Looking forward into 2022 Rokstone forecast that Prime Central London rental values will rise by 2-3% with the volume of viewings rising by up to 60% and the volume of deals potentially rising by 10% to 20%, depending on new supply coming to the market.

Rokstone highlight that a good example of properties currently in demand is the recently launched Chester Collection in Belgravia, which consists of four newly built dressed London townhouses situated on Little Chester Street each boasting four floors of living and entertainment space, luxurious bedroom suites, en-suite bathrooms, terraces, as well as a concierge/porter and secure underground parking.

With architecture and interior design by award winning Squire & Partners, built by British luxury developer-contractor and fitout specialist Cheevers Poole, the homes offer either three or four bedrooms and are up to 300 square metres (3,230 sqft) in size.

Like a boutique hotel, the Chester Collection townhouses offer the amenity of a dedicated on-site porter/concierge, providing residents with a range of services including handling deliveries and collections, maintenance and organising transportation. Each house has an underground parking bay with direct internal access into the property, providing residents with total privacy and additional security.

Each house has the benefit of balconies and outside terraces enabling residents to enjoy outdoor relaxation, perfect for reading a book, entertaining guests and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine on warm days. A furniture depositary has also been curated so that the homes can be furnished to client’s personal needs and tastes – enabling a completely unique fully furnished experience when required. The townhouses at the Chester Collection are dressed and ready for immediate occupation, available to let at prices starting from £7,250 per week.

Another good example is a dressed four bedroom bedroom house located on Lyall Street in Belgravia. The house provides 3,131 sqft (290.88 sqm) of luxurious accommodation complete with a 205 sqft front garden. Behind the elegant white stucco period façade, the property has been fully refurbished and modernized with specification interior design by award winning Hollywood-London designer Nicola Fontanella of Argent Design whose clients have included Guy Ritchie, Madonna and Richard Caring.

The house provides substantial entertaining space on the ground and lower ground floor, comprised of a ground floor reception room with dining area, with the family kitchen and breakfast/family dining area on the lower floor. The entire first floor provides the principal bedroom suite, with two further bedrooms on the top floor and another on the lower ground level. The Lyall Street house is available on a short let basis for £8,500 per week.

There is also a dressed four bedroom duplex apartment on Upper Belgrave Street in Belgravia. Located across the raised and lower ground floors of a grand stucco fronted mansion building the duplex residence offers 3,288 sqft (305.46 sqm) of accommodation opening onto a garden patio on the lower ground floor.

The duplex offers the layout benefits of a house, with two reception rooms, entrance hall with staircase and kitchen on the upper floor and the four bedroom suites on the lower ground floor. An external spiral staircase leads down from one of the reception rooms to the patio garden.

The principal bedroom suite has a bay window opening onto the patio garden, with a walk-in dressing room and main bathroom. The main guest bedroom suite also opens onto the patio garden and has an ensuite bathroom and walk-in dressing area. There are two further bedroom suites, both with ensuites and one with a walk-in dressing room. The duplex on Upper Belgrave Street is available to let for £7,500 per week.

Olivia McSweeney, Associate Director & Head of Lettings at Rokstone says: “The Prime Central London lettings market has returned to its pre-COVID-19 levels of buoyancy with the volume of tenants and deals all significantly up since mid 2021. The most popular properties are either dressed new build or newly refurbished homes which offer outside space. Marylebone and Belgravia are the most popular addresses in PCL for applicants and deals currently.”

Becky Fatemi Founding Director at Rokstone says: “Listings like the Chester Collection provide tenants with a lettings opportunity unlike any other, the epitome of luxury and elegance. The key issue in the London luxury lettings market at present is lack of stock. Tenants are chasing the same properties which is why rental values have risen slightly this year.