Chesterton Humberts has re-launched its Facebook profile with an innovative new property search function.

Like Chesterton Humberts to search for rentals without leaving Facebook: www.facebook.com/chestertonhumberts.

They are currently the only national estate agent to offer a property search function on Facebook, allowing users to remain on the Facebook website whilst browsing properties. Other agents’ Facebook pages require users to navigate away from the website in order to perform property searches or view search results.

Rents fell by 0.4% in Q4, with further falls expected into the spring, reports property consultant Cluttons. The current decrease is following a remarkable period of consistent growth of nearly 9% between Q4 2010 to Q4 2011, reaching a level 10.3% above the market peak in Q1 2008.

The reason behind the tenants’ sensitivity is said to be the lack of promotion and nervousness over job prospects in the City. Landlords are now more flexible as they are keen to keep good quality tenants in place and minimise void periods.

Read the full report here.

*Most expensive Olympic rentals in PrimeLocation

It is an interesting time in the London short-term lettings market as the Olympics are getting closer. The selection of flats and houses has never been more colourful and probably never will be again. During the first month of 2012 the number of offers has risen significantly and so have the prices!

The most expensive property for rent during the games is a seven bedroom house in Mayfair, available through Knight Frank. You can rent it for £100,000 per week!

We can recommend PrimeLocation for the best selection of exclusive properties.

So how are you feeling on this most depressing day of the year? Wish you could pack your bags and fly off tomorrow?

I have been meaning to recommend a service for those of you planning to go away for a while. Just before leaving for vacation in December, I decided to try Royal Mail’s mail holding service and have to say I was quite pleased that I did.

My reason for signing up was just because I didn’t want the big stack of mail to disturb my neighbours. But those of you living in a house or a big apartment building, you have a more serious reason – a good pile of mail on your doorstep or in your mailbox may attract burglars and squatters.

Royal Mail Keepsafe enables you to withhold the delivery of your post for up to two months and the process of setting it up over the phone is very easy. You can also fill out an application and send it by post if you like.

Setting up the service over the phone took about 5 minutes, during which they asked me for my property address, names of the people who want their mail kept and the time period required. After giving all these details you can make the payment with your credit card. For three weeks it cost me £13.17.

Even though it is easy to set up, there are some easy slips that could turn the service pointless. Here’s a few tips:

1. Make sure to place the order at least one week before you leave.
The service has to be ordered at least 5 days before the activation date. Also, keep in mind that they will send you a confirmation letter in post. You can ask them not to send the confirmation by post although I am not sure if that is an option. I left my order for the last minute but thankfully the letter arrived in two days, the day before I left.

2. Specify that the service should cover ‘all individuals who receive mail at this address’.
By default they will still deliver the mail without names such as To The Occupier, etc. If you live in Central London you probably get at least a couple of ‘To The Homeowner’ letters a day and you don’t want these to give your absence away.

Hope you will find the service helpful!

Royal Mail Keepsafe website.

The new year has started rather well with reports that rents in London are falling (here and here) but is the tide really turning or is this calm before the storm?

Here is what the local estate agents forecast for the residential rental market in 2012.

Peter Rollings, Marsh & Parsons [source]

Based on current trends, Marsh & Parsons forecast that rents will rise by another 15% in 2012, with booming demand at the ‘volume’ end of the market (one and two bed flats) balanced against a more sluggish corporate lettings market. It’s obvious – a shortage of quality property for sale in the most popular prime areas will inevitably drive up demand from both interim and long term renters, pushing rents upwards.

However, on the downside, demand in the corporate lettings market for properties renting for more than £1,000 per week has leveled off in recent months, with City firms cutting their relocation budgets. As companies look to keep costs down in the coming year, further growth will come from the lower levels of the market.

Hamptons International [source]

• London is expected to see 5% increase in rental prices and 3% in Prime London.
• Rental demand is expected to remain strong for the mainstream market, with some softening of the market at the top-end due to economic uncertainty.
• High rents in Central London will continue to push demand further out as renters are unable and/or unwilling to stretch budgets. This will support rental growth in areas of Inner London such as Islington, Ealing, Clapham and further out towards Wimbledon, Richmond, Esher and Guildford.

Carter Jonas [source]

• Supply of good quality properties remains restrained, although likely to increase during early 2012.
• The downturn in lettings is forecast to be relatively short-lived and activity levels are expected to recover by the spring of 2012.
• Demand will rise thanks to European tenants attracted by the UK’s comparative stability as well as the flexibility of short lets.
• The London Olympics will also provide a significant boost to demand in 2012, with rents expected to rise by up to 5% from the middle of year.

Chesterton Humberts [source]

• The flat housing market, low availability of quality stock and continued demand from renters will see another year of rental price increases. This situation is likely to be exacerbated in the short-term by the Olympic Games, as demand from visitors for temporary accommodation is expected to put further pressure on the already limited stock levels.

Knight Frank [source]

• Prime London residential rents will rise during 2012 as a whole and will see average annual growth of around 4% to 5% over the medium term.

Cluttons [source]

• We expect the disparity between yields on prime ‘safe haven’ stock and those in secondary locations will continue to widen into 2012. This will be driven by prices weakening on poorer quality property with significant occupier risk.

Peter Rollings prediction is of course music for investors ears but 15%, really?

According to the latest research by ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents), in Q4 2011, only 33% of Prime London letting agents reported more tenants than properties available. Significant drop from the third quarter, when 50% of the agents  noted this trend.

- The ARLA Review and Index for Residential Investment 2011 Q4
- The ARLA Review and index for Residential Investment 2011 Q3

London 2012 Olympics are six months away but if you have not secured a rental home for that time yet - you better be looking right now!

These websites will help you get started:

RentForOlympicGames.com Over 300 private listings.
PrimeLocation.com Rentals Offers by estate agents. Enter ‘Olympics’ to the keywords line in the search – we got over 800 results today!
FindaProperty.com Short Lets Arranged by sports events.
London Games Rentals Contact the owner direct, no charges for tenants.
Rent it For The Games Offers from private landlords, direct contacts.
Rent At The Games Free to list site, currently 149 offers on the site.
Rent For The Games Offers from private landlords. 84 offers currently.
Loot 2012 Rentals dedicated site by the classifieds newspaper Loot.

LETTING AGENT SITES

Draker Lettings Olympic rentals Draker Lettings have a variety of excellent Olympic rentals available for London 2012.
Foxtons Olympic Rentals Rental accommodation during London 2012
Hampton International Olympic & Sport Lets Short-term let properties that are in the vicinity of the Olympics and other major sporting events.

SERVICED APARTMENTS

Clarendon Olympics Serviced apartments
Refresh Accommodation Olympics Services Rent from one night up to the full duration of the Olympics.

For more rental listings see our: Property Websites page.

At least one of my friends has been handed a notice to vacate his rented home by the time of the Olympic Games. His landlord plans to rent the flat out for at least five times the price for the couple of weeks from 27 July to 12 August 2012.

I asked a prime London property manager if this is common and she said that they are trying to end all their fifty plus agreements by the time of the Olympics… The busy autumn season starts conveniently right after and by the looks of it, there will an unusually large number of tenants looking for a new place.

The price we pay to live in this town!

Foxtons has launched a new service which allows landlords and tenants to conduct rental deals online. This eliminates the need for time consuming journeys to high street branches to sign rental agreements and pay deposits.

Knight Frank‘s latest latest lettings data for Prime Central London reveals that residential rents fell in October.

Key facts:

- Prime London residential rents fell in October, by -0.1%, the first decline since June 2009.
- Rents still rose by 0.6% in the three months to October.
- Rents have now risen by 27% since the post-crash low in June 2009 and sit near an all time high, some 2% higher than the previous peak level reached in March 2008.
- Total annual returns have averaged 18.2%, before gearing.
- Strong demand from tenants has allowed landlord’s to push rents higher at each break and renewal date. The critical point underpinning this process has been the strength of the central London employment sector. That strength is being tested by redundancies in several areas of the financial sector. Morgan McKinsey, the specialist City recruiter, confirm that available jobs across London’s financial services sector were 22% lower in October compared to the same month in 2010.
- New property instructions are up by 36% in the three months to October compared to the same period last year
- New tenant registrations are higher by 15% over the same period.
- The sharp increase in tenant viewings, rising at twice the rate as new tenant registrations, suggests tenants are more confident about taking their time to view properties and are not feeling rushed into taking the first unit they see.

Read more: Prime London residential rents fall for the first time since June 2009

Dogs Trust thinks it is a good idea to provide prospective landlords with a reference for your pet so that you can show them in advance that you are a responsible owner and that your pet is well behaved.

It would be great if you could ask a previous landlord to write the reference as they will be in the best position to recommend you and your pet as tenants. If you have not rented with your pets before, you could also ask your vet to write you a reference. Although they will not be able to vouch for you and your pet as tenants, they can reassure prospective landlords that you are a responsible pet owner. You should ask your vet to state in their reference that:

- your pets are well behaved
- you are a responsible pet owner
- you provide routine preventive health care, such as vaccinations and flea treatments, for you pets (when appropriate)
- you seek medical treatment for your pets when needed.

Download the Pet Reference Sample HERE.

Dogs Trust’s Lets with Pets campaign aims to help pet owners find privately rented accommodation with their pets. Go to the Lets With Pets campaign website.

A London landlord who has had the same tenant in his property for over five years is wondering whether he should start raising the rent. What advice would you give him?

Click here to read the City A.M. Q&A column where this question was raised.

Well, we certainly do not expect the landlord to freeze the rent just because we’ve been a good tenant but we would definitely prefer an annual reasonable rise to a big surprise hike!

Unbelievable! One Hyde Park hits the new rental price record – Savills is advertising a 5-bedroom flat available for rent for £45,000 a week! Yes, just £195,000 per month and £2,340.000 per year. We have heard that someone rented a flat in OHP for £55,000 per week but that’s the first time we see an actual listing with such a high price tag.

1. £45,000 One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge SW1, 5 bedrooms available through Savills.
2.-3. £25,000 Cadogan Gardens, Chelsea SW3, 3 bedrooms Foxtons
2.-3. £25,000 Wellington Court, 116 Knightsbridge, Knightsbridge SW1 PL & CO
2.-3. £25,000 One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge SW1, 4 bedrooms Savills
4. £17,000 Hans Place, Knightsbridge SW1, 4 bedrooms Draker Lettings
5.-6. £15,000 Lennox Gardens, Knightsbridge SW1, 3 bedrooms Cameron Pearson
5.-6. £15,000 Duchess of Bedfords Walk, Holland Park W8 Hamptons International
7. £12,500 Lowndes Square, Knightsbridge SW1, 3 bedrooms Foxtons
8. £12,000 Palace Court, London W2, 5 bedrooms Knight Frank
9. £10,575 Albion Riverside, Battersea SW11 Knight Frank
10. £10,000 Lowndes Place, Knightsbridge SW1, 4 bedrooms Cameron Pearson

Sources: PrimeLocation.com, Zoopla, FindaProperty.com, Rightmove

Have you seen a flat that should be on this list? Leave the link to the comments or E-mail us info at royalsofrent.com.

Read also: Most Expensive London Flats For Rent

Estate agent Knight Frank will soon be opening a new office near Lancaster Gate tube station, in the corner of Craven Terrace and Craven Hill in London W2. There are 3 other agents close by – Chard is just down the road on Craven Terrace, Cavendish Rowe and Kyoto Estates across the road on Craven Road.

Watch it, City – the estate agents are keeping an eye on you!

Lucy Morton, Senior Partner of WA Ellis, shares her market expertise:

“The Eurozone crisis is I believe slowing down rent increases but I say this with caution as historically November is one of the quietest months in the Lettings calendar. The first 10 days of December are generally extremely active and this is when we will be able to establish whether it is the time of year or the economic situation which is applying the brakes. It is clear however that the City is not bringing in so many ex-pats who underpin the lettings values in Central London – the Lettings market is always an excellent barometer for the City climate.”

Interesting times ahead.