Rents at the top of the regional market have risen faster than at the top of the London market for two years running. That is a reversal, and it has a specific cause.
Employers moved first
Relocated head-office functions brought salaries into cities whose premium rental stock was measured in hundreds of units rather than thousands. The demand arrived faster than anything could be built for it, and rents did what rents do.
What tenants at that level are paying for
- A tenancy that can be signed remotely and referenced in a week.
- Furnishing that is optional rather than assumed.
- A landlord who is a company with a complaints process.
How long it lasts
Until completions catch up, which on current pipelines is three to four years in Manchester and longer in Bristol and Edinburgh, where the constraint is land rather than finance.
Premium rent outside London stopped being a discount and became its own market.Slateon Lettings
