London homes reach new heights of popularity
DEMAND FOR London homes is at an all-time high, reports estate agent Dexters. The first half of 2021 saw an extremely active lettings market, with lots of interest in central London and a noticeable resurgence of international relocators, plus students returning in vast numbers. With three times as many tenancies being agreed per week compared with the same time last year and renewals at an all-time high, Dexters now has more than 36,000 tenants registered looking for a London home.
Alex Harrington, lettings managing director at Dexters, says: “The number of tenants looking to move through us has grown significantly. We are currently arranging over 45,000 viewings per month across London and these numbers are increasing daily. This is proving that given the choice, tenants want to view properties in the flesh and use a trusted agent.
“Although we did have to adapt our working practices to maintain social distancing by providing virtual viewings, the internet has not replaced the importance of human contact in property transactions. With 35 strategically positioned offices across London and 12 in the most desirable prime central London locations including Mayfair, Marylebone, Kensington and Chelsea and Belgravia, we are well positioned to meet the needs of our clients and offer a fantastic selection of property across the capital.”
Pent-up demand is the reason behind much of this accelerated activity and is creating a shortage of supply in the market. “This competition is pushing prices back up,” says Harrington, “and we predict that lettings values will continue
to rise as we head towards the end of the year, as rents are returning to pre-pandemic levels. “Our primary aim is to deliver the best results for our client and we work hard to attract great tenants. We make sure that we don’t have any empty properties and our average void period now stands at less than one per cent for the 27,000 landlords we work in partnership with. As a result of this, over 1,000 new landlords are trusting us with their properties every month. The lack of supply is encouraging longterm tenancies, which are our speciality and we make sure our tenants are well looked after, so they don’t need to go anywhere else.
“We work closely in partnership with Wetherell, Mayfair’s leading agent, and have been helping ‘super prime’ tenants find townhouses, historic houses, and mews cottages, at rents ranging from £1,500 to £40,000 per week. These are demanding tenants, but they typically take on a property for three to five years, and sometimes longer.
“Our corporate services and international relocation team have been especially busy assisting investors, global blue-chip companies, institutions and embassies who are moving their staff to London and many of whom use Dexters exclusively for all their property needs. Some of our well-known clients include
Facebook, BP and Amazon. There is a noticeable resurgence of international relocators as we receive on average 200 new enquiries per week.”
As the lettings market continues to thrive and shows no signs of slowing down, Dexters expects a busy end to the year. With property prices having tripled in the past 20 years, it predicts property values will continue rising over the next decade.
“Our landlords understand that London property remains a brilliant investment,” says Harrington, “and we are here to support them throughout the duration of their property journey.
There is a noticeable resurgence of international relocators’
“Our tenants and landlords are supported by Dexters’ award-winning property management team and are reassured the property managers are never more than 15 minutes away. This ensures Dexters provide a rapid response to any issue that may arise. Over 200 property managers work in our London offices caring for both individual houses and flats as well as whole blocks, estates and portfolios.”
Dexters lettings teams have already broken all records this year and it continues to grow the business by investing in people and our offices. “This is an exciting time for the London property market,” says Harrington “and we look forward to being part of it and delivering a five-star service to our clients”.