London rental demand plummets across all areas of the city
New research from flatshare site SpareRoom has revealed London appears to be losing its appeal among renters, with rental demand dramatically plummeting in all areas of the city.
West Central has experienced the biggest decrease year on year (YOY) down -43%, closely followed by East Central (-39%) and West London (-26%). Even the most popular London postcode (East London) is struggling to withstand the effects of the pandemic, seeing a drop of -19%.
Please see below table for decreases in rental demand across the capital YOY:
| London regions | Decrease in rental demand YOY |
| South East London | -15% |
| East London | -19% |
| North London | -21% |
| South West London | -21% |
| North West London | -22% |
| West London | -26% |
| East Central London | -39% |
| West Central London | -43% |
In Q4 2020 London rents were also down 8% from Q4 2019 to Q4 2020, the third consecutive quarter London has seen a significant decline.
Whilst the capital struggles to regain momentum, rental demand around the rest of the UK is looking encouraging, with no other key UK town or city showing a decline. In fact, many areas around the UK are now proving to be very desirable for renters – perhaps benefiting from people rejecting London. In particular, Ipswich (86%), Warrington (84%) and Northampton (82%) are experiencing the biggest increases in demand YOY.