London’s asking rents outpace agreed prices

Advertised rents in Greater London rose 6.1% in September compared with a year earlier, but tenants were securing deals below the asking price.

The average rent also fell by £38 from August.

Hello Neighbour’s figures put September’s average advertised rent at £2,448 for the properties it listed.

Across its London homes advertised between July and September that have since been let, agreed rents were 2.5% below asking.

Asking prices face negotiation

The firm’s chief executive Richard Jenkins said: “Advertised rents move first and furthest, because they respond to new pricing decisions straight away.

“That gap is important for any landlord thinking about a valuation or a rent review.”

He added: “We do not expect demand to rise much from current levels, and with affordability where it is, we expect agreed rents to keep trailing asking prices.

“The distance between the two is the figure we will keep reporting each month.”

Fewer homes to rent

Zoopla’s September report put the number of homes available to rent in London 6% below a year earlier, with inner London recording a sharper fall.

Available stock in inner London was down 13%.

Meanwhile, Hello Neighbour recorded 34 enquiries per property in September, compared with 40 in August and 45 a year earlier.

Every month this year has attracted fewer enquiries per property than the corresponding month in 2025.

Rent growth slows

Annual growth in Hello Neighbour’s advertised rents slowed from 9.8% in August, partly because September last year provided a higher starting point for the comparison.

HomeLet, which measures agreed rents on tenancies starting that month, recorded a London average of £2,272 in September.

Its annual growth figure also eased, from 5.1% in August to 3.3%.

Hello Neighbour expects advertised rents to remain above last year’s levels through the autumn, citing tight supply and weaker comparisons with October and November 2025.