According to Cluttons, over 70% of its London agents reported an increase in lettings volumes during August.

Cluttons believes that the London market improved in August due to landlords dropping rents to more reasonable levels and that prospective tenants now believe that they are securing the best deals. The Capital has seen an increase in supply of rental properties in recent months and this has lead to the market balancing out as rents dropped. In July, Cluttons agents reported that the supply of properties to let in South Kensington, Chelsea and Knightsbridge had doubled over the last year and that this had led to a 5% fall in rents.

The survey also found that 91% of agents expected letting volumes to continue to increase over the next year as problems persist in the sales market.

Richard Cotton, divisional head of the residential agency at Cluttons, told PIN: “Landlords are being much more realistic about the current rental value of their properties, which have dipped over recent months following a surge in the number of properties on the market. Consequently, they are successfully letting properties more quickly and avoiding long void periods which are so detrimental to yields.”