Trump-fearing Americans flood London’s luxury lettings market
Survey finds that rich Americans are the largest overseas tenant group at the top end of Prime Central London’s lettings market.
A Trump-driven exodus is generating a boom in London’s super-luxury lettings and short-term rental sectors, says Beauchamp Estates boss Jeremy Gee.
The upmarket estate agency’s latest Prime Central London Lettings Survey shows American tenants favour addresses in Notting Hill, St John’s Wood, Chelsea and Mayfair.
The best-performing postcode have been W2 (Bayswater and parts of Notting Hill), with 287 prime rental transactions, or 7% of all deals, and a rise of 6% on 2023.
This is closely followed by SW7 (Knightsbridge) and then SW3 (Chelsea), which during 2024 saw the highest increase in transactions year on year, with 247 deals – a 21% increase from 2023.
Spending more
The survey also revealed that during 2024 tenants were willing to spend more on London rentals than in 2023, with the total value of long-let rental transactions in Prime Central London rising from £362.25 million in 2023 to £379.45 million in 2024, a rise of 4.7%.
And short-term rentals saw marked increases in both the size of properties and their prices in 2024. Short-let houses are now averaging around 2,587sq.ft., up from 2,140sq.ft. in 2023, and the average weekly rent grew by as much as 34% year on year, from £2,045 in 2023 to £2,739 in 2024.
A burgeoning trend may be that people may choose to rent, and ‘try before they buy.”
Gee says there has been: “Remarkable resilience in rental hot spots across the UK’s capital, with continued demand across both luxury and long and short-term rental segments.
“Rental values remained strong in key hotspots, and there was an increase in overall transaction volumes, indicating stability and continued demand in the market. Prime locations such as Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Mayfair and Bayswater remain at the forefront of activity, with high-end properties continuing to attract affluent tenants.
“The ongoing appeal of Prime Central London as a key destination for both short and long stays is evident, with the number of year-on-year transactions increasing slightly. A burgeoning trend may be that people may choose to rent, and ‘try before they buy’, before committing to in the longer term.”
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