Although just slightly larger than a bathroom or walk-in cupboard, this 301 sq ft one-bedroom flat on Pollen Street in London’s Mayfair has let within just 40 minutes of going on the market – setting a new speed record in the London rental market.
Placed for rent first thing in the morning, the flat was available to let through Mayfair agent E J Harris for £1,560 per month. The tenant, who needed a home close to work, paid more than £10,000 up front to secure the property, a cost that covered the deposit, a six-month tenure and lettings fees, and moved in the same afternoon.
Best described as “compact and bijou”, the apartment went onto the real estate firm’s website and details were also e-mailed to the firm’s applicant database. Within just 15 minutes of the firm had more then 200 email and telephone enquiries about the property, and within 30 minutes five serious offers.
In just under 40 minutes the flat was let – with the winning tenant, an executive working in the hospitality industry in the West End handing over the deposit and six months’ rent upfront in order to close the deal.
What made the deal so distinctive is the sheer speed of the transaction; the serious applicants vying with money-up-front offers to secure the tenancy, and the fact that the apartment is a typical, indeed rather small, one bedroom apartment rather than a super-luxury or super-cheap property.
Located on Pollen Street, a one lane thoroughfare just off Regent Street near Oxford Circus underground station, the apartment has a small living area which leads into a compact open plan fully fitted kitchen / dining area. There is also a bedroom with wardrobe space and a shower room.
Elizabeth Harris, Managing Director of E J Harris, said: “The speed of this deal and the battle to secure the tenancy is the clearest indicator yet to me how buoyant and hot London’s letting market is at present.
“The tenant has a highly successful career working in the hospitality industry in the West End and needed a home nearby, she was very firm about wanting to rent not buy.
“If it was a swanky flat in Mayfair’s posh Western district I would expect it to fly out of the door, but this is an “ordinary Londoner” apartment on the eastern Soho border by Regent Street. It’s the ordinary nature of this that makes it so extraordinary.”
Harris added: “I think the reason that standard lets are flying out the door at present is because a “perfect storm” of factors has come together to create a super-hot rentals market at present.
“Firstly the rapid recovery and strength of the London economy has helped to fuel the capital’s lettings market. Alongside this, the rise in Stamp Duty and uncertainty over an additional Mansion Tax in the lead up to the election, has generated a 30 per cent increase in vendors looking to let rather than sell, and an additional wave of households choosing to let rather than purchase.
“This is what is causing a lettings frenzy in the capital at the moment.”
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg