Prime London property market sees muted activity

London’s prime property market displayed subdued activity in May, with rental growth moderating and sales transactions notably low, according to LonRes data.

The lettings sector saw a slight uptick in new instructions, while the sales market grappled with cautious buyers and elevated stock levels.

The data shows that the capital’s prime rental growth eased to 3.3% annually, down from 5.0% in April.

This marks a continuation of low single-digit increases, with growth ranging between 1% and 6% for 18 months.

Positive signs for the prime sector

Nick Gregori, the firm’s head of research, said: “May saw small positive signs for prime London lettings activity.

“While new instructions were still down on an annual basis, they were much closer to last year after a series of quiet months.”

He added: “Annual rental growth was 3.3% in May, slightly slower than April.

“Data on time to let suggests that the market at higher price points is more balanced, while demand continues to outstrip supply for more affordable properties.”

Prime London rent prices

LonRes says that rents now sit 32.9% above their 2017-2019 pre-pandemic average.

However, activity remains constrained by a tight supply, with 4.6% fewer properties available to rent compared to last year and a striking 62.4% drop from five years ago.

New instructions, while still down 5.2% annually, showed improvement, marking the strongest monthly performance of 2025.

Lets agreed fell sharply by 21.7% compared to May 2024, reflecting levels well below pre-pandemic norms.

The time taken to let properties averaged 67 days, slightly slower than last year’s 65 days but faster than the 69-day pre-pandemic average.

Properties priced below £2,000 per week let more quickly, indicating robust demand, while those above took 113 days, aligning with pre-pandemic trends.

Prime London sales market

The data also that the prime London sales market faced a challenging May, with transactions plummeting 35.8% compared to last year and 33.5% below the 2017-2019 May average.

Properties going under offer dropped 22.3% annually, signalling subdued activity in the months ahead.

New instructions slowed, falling 3.2% from May 2024, though they remained 6.2% above the pre-pandemic average.

Stock levels rose, with 11.7% more properties available than a year ago and 48.2% more than in May 2020, a period distorted by lockdown restrictions.

Price reductions surged by 20.1% compared to last year, reflecting vendor efforts to attract cautious buyers.

The stamp duty holiday, which ended on 31 March, also continued to influence the market.