Lettings

The number of new sales and lettings instructions fell back sharply in April, according to the RICS, while demand continued to rise.

Demand for city centre rental properties is rising, reports Zoopla, with London rents having bottomed out in February.

“The dip in sales in April is temporary,” says Knight Frank, as the number of offers accepted in Prime London spikes.

Hong Kong is still the most expensive city in the world to rent a luxury property, says Knight Frank, despite the pandemic and political headwinds.

London is the only GB region where average asking rents are lower now than they were five years ago, reports Rightmove.

“There’s a supply crunch coming down the line in prime lettings markets this summer," warns Knight Frank, while Savills tells of a "fundamentally undersupplied" market in the Home Counties.

Under-30s accounted for nearly 90% of the tenancies signed in Q1, reports LCP - up by almost a quarter on last year.

March saw a 57% increase in the number of people looking to buy a property in London, and a 21% increase in the number of tenants looking to move compared to February, according to Chestertons.

'The full force of the demand that has built up over the last year will only be felt once international travel restrictions are relaxed', says Knight Frank.

Domus Stay promises to "open the doors to some of London’s most outstanding homes for short-term rentals."

131,900 buy-to-let homes were sold-off by investors in 2020, says Hamptons; the lowest number since 2013.

The consensus amongst surveyors is that renewed property market momentum following the extension of the Stamp Duty holiday will be "sustained over the near term."