Average rents fell by 2.1% in the prime Central London residential lettings market in the year to February 2018, the latest industry analysis has revealed.

This is the same rate of decline as that experienced in January of this year.

House price falls in prime central London appear to have reached their lowest point with rental declines also having slowed, shows a new report by Knight Frank.

There have been two years of annual rental value declines however the fall in prices in the first two months of 2018 have been at the lowest rate of decline since April 2016.

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Declining rents have previously been caused by high levels of stock which were largely a product of uncertainty due to the short term prospects for price growth in the sales market which led owners to let their property as opposed to selling.

However the tables are turning with a growing number of landlords choosing to sell as they realise that the sales market is bottoming out in terms of pricing. This is leading to a curtail in supply and increased pressure on rental values.

The number of new buy to let properties placed on the market fell by 6.4% in the year to January 2018 when compared to the previous 12 months.

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However, demand has been rising over the same period of time. There was a 17.6% increase in the number of new prospective tenants looking for properties to rent and 11% more tenancies according to Knight Frank.

The estate agent has forecast that average rental values will grow by 0.5% in the prime central London market as supply levels balance out and demand strengthens.

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