The new FindaProperty.com Rental Index for April 2009 is now available!

What is happening in London residential rental market in April 2009?

- Majority of London boroughs continue to see both month-on-month and year-on-year falls in asking rents, with the inner boroughs and the south west London corridor amongst the most severely affected.

- Double digit declines are not unusual, with the largest year-on-year falls seen in Islington (-15.9%), Tower Hamlets (-14.0%), Merton (-12.7%), Hammersmith and Fulham (-12.5%) and Wandsworth (-12.2%).

- Areas that have performed best are situated in the outer London boroughs, with a particular concentration in Eastern and South Eastern locations.

- Some boroughs have even managed to achieve year-on-year rental growth, including Greenwich (4%), Hillingdon (1.2%) and Barking & Dagenham (0.8%).

*Excerpt from London Boroughs Overview

Highest average rental asking price in April 2009 – Kensington & Chelsea £3,176 (monthly change -0,2%).
Lowest average rental asking price in April 2009 – Barking & Dagenham £911 (monthly change +1,3%).

Download the latest FindaProperty.com Rental Index.

Have you considered renting in Chelsea SW3? It is definitely one of the nicest areas in London IOHO.

We had the best walk around the area on Saturday, and here are some photos we took just for our YOU!

St. Luke’s & Christ Church garden. Between St Luke’s and Sydney Street.

Amazing view to the garden from the houses at Britten Street. Estate agent Aylesford has a 2-bed apartment overlooking the garden for 575 pw in their books. Click here to see the ad.

St. Luke’s Street.

Corner of Sumner Place and Fulham Road.

That small palace there is Anouschka’s favourite house in Chelsea.

Burnsall Street. The best looking facade decoration we’ve seen this Spring.

Astell Street.

Fulham Road.

Christian Liaigre, 68-70 Fulham Road.

To let by Hamptons International.

Unique wheels…

And doors.

Door knockers.

Smith Street just off King’s Road is actually already Kensington SW3.

Neighbourhood watch seems to be pretty good around here.

Do you have something like that in your area?

Letting agents Knight Frank and Susan Metcalfe seem to be active in the area.

Ormonde Gate.

The lucky residents on Franklins Row enjoy the view to the…

…cricket ground…

…tennis courts…

… and Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Hamptons International may be able to help you if you want to rent in the area. That’s the first time we hear about UKD Homes.

Click here to see the average asking prices in SW3 area.

American film director Woody Allen is looking for a London pad to rent, reports Times Online.

The film-maker wants a house with 3 or 4 bedrooms, and it must have a swimming pool. “He is flexible on area and doesn’t have a specific budget,” says my source. Allen, 73, is in the capital working on his next film, as yet untitled, but set to star Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Freida Pinto and Antonio Banderas.

Woody must really like it here, as he just filmed at least a couple of movies in London not so long ago – Match Point came out in 2005, and Scoop in 2006.

Calling all young interior designers who want to be discovered!

4Homes has just launched a new feature on their website called “Rate My Room”.

*Flickr, Icemoon

Popular classified ad site Gumtree is an interesting read even if you are not currently not looking to rent, buy or sell anything. The keyword search option will take you to places you did not know existed.

We did a little search on for free offers in the London accommodation section:

- Free Wireless connection only £140 per week Studio in N Kensington
- Free in-house gym 1-bed flat in Brentford
- HASSEL FREE Studio in Seven Sisters
- Live 5 days rent Free 2-bed in zone 2
- Play tennis for free and feed the squirrels in the sun Double room in turnpike Lane
- Attractive City Lawyer Offering Free Accommodation for Intimacy
- Drive you from property to property, FREE OF CHARGE Holloway
- Free gym and swimming pool access 3-bed in Elephant & Castle
- Free cable and WiFi internet 2-bed in South Kensington
- Council tax is FREE for tenants 3-bed house in Leyton
- Free phone calls 24 hours to UK landline numbers Double room in Southfields
- The house enjoys free cleaning service Double room in Tower Hill
- You can share the cutlery but you are free to use your own one Single room in Sour East London
- Free DVD rentals Double room in Charlton
- First week rent free Double room in Wimbledon

NB! The ads that offer totally free accommodation should not be taken seriously.

PS It is very important that you read these top tips for staying safe before answering any accommodation ads on classified ad sites.

On the right hand side of our blog we have a few links to websites we recommend London renters to use for rental property search. These sites deserve to be on the pedestal for several reasons but also just because they contain more rental listings than others.

We thought it would be a good idea to write down the number of property listings each portal has in one specific London postcode, and then come back to see where all of them stand after a few months.

Number of residential property ads in SW3 (Chelsea and Brompton) on more popular UK property portals:

PROPERTIES
IN SW3             PORTAL
1916                 Findaproperty.com
1874                 Primelocation.com
1340                 Globrix
1076                 Nestoria
1066                 TrovitHomes
1000***             Rightmove
645                   Zoomf
625                   DotHomes
502                   ThinkProperty.com
342                   HotProperty.co.uk
225                   Look4aProperty.co.uk
209                   Zoopla
202                   Fish4Homes
200****              PropertyFinder.co.uk
41                     TheLettingSite.co.uk
30                     PropertyIndex.com
?*                      PropertyLive.co.uk
?**                     Enormo
13.4.2009

*Estate agents’ owned website does not allow searching for properties from only one specific postcode (they suggest we look at all the offers within 1 mile radius as well).

**Postcode search not available.

***The site says 1000+ but lists exactly 1000 properties.

****The site says 200+ results but lists exactly 200 properties.

The annual Estate Agent & Letting Agent Awards ceremony was held at the Marriott Hotel on Grosvenor Square in London on Wednesday. 

Voted by the customers, these awards recognise the highest standards of customer service in the estate and letting agent industry based on research conducted amongst sellers, buyers and landlords throughout the UK, states the awards  official website.
  
London winners of the Letting Agent Awards 2009:

Crompton Estates
Deptford London
Winner of the Letting Agents Awards 2009 Gold

Martin & Co
Kensington & Chelsea London
Winner of the Letting Agents Awards 2009 Silver

Living Residential 
West Hampstead London  
Winner of the Letting Agents Awards 2009 Bronze

We noticed that the gold prize winner currently has only 6 properties to let in London, and that their homepage does not even have a proper listings section. So what is it that makes Crompton Estates so good that it is better than ANY other letting agent in London? We found the answer from the opening page of their website:

Whether you’re looking for that special place to call home, or planning to let out your own property, talk to Crompton Estates and you will be pleasantly surprised to see how refreshingly different we are. You will find honesty even if it is to our own short-term disadvantage, yes an honest estate agent!

Congratulations to all the winners!

PS! We have marked the winners on our London Letting Agents page as well. 

New York Habitat has just published their very first London Vacation Rental Market Report. 

New York Habitat has been offering rental apartments in London since 2002.

Download London Vacation Rental Market Report 2008.

We are excited to hear that SpareRoom.co.uk is planning to launch a new magazine! The ultimate guide to finding your ideal flat or house share in Greater London should be in most of the newsstands from 1st of May for £2.50.

If you want your ad in that number, that very first edition – you better hurry up and place your ad now. Bold photo ad costs only £24.95, other options are cheaper. 

Click here to find out more.

It’s official – the public love floor plans, writes Estate Agent Today. Rightmove has found that those property listings with plans have 35% more attention from buyers. The Academy survey report says that ca 85% of the house hunters consider floor plans important. Only 58,9% thought that local shops and such information is important, and only 51% voted for 360 virtual tours.  

We wrote about the importance of plans in the listings back in February this year.

Unlike photos or description, floor plans give renters hard facts which cannot be shown in a different light. WYSIWYG.

Demand to see the floor plan before viewing the property, and you’ll save yourself and the agent a lot of time!

 
St. James in March

Most popular blog post: 10 Reasons to Rent in Pimlico
We were sure it would be a hit! Nick is doing a good job promoting his flats.
PS! if you want to send us the description of your favourite area in London – we’d be happy to publish it!

Most visited page: Most Expensive Rental Apartments in London UK

Keyword combination of the month:
negotiating rent london
how to negotiate lower rent
negotiating lower rent
ask landlord to lower rent 
letter to landlord to lower rent

Haven’t we reached the bottom already?

Source: Google Analytics

From 1st April 2009 Gas Safe Register replaces CORGI as the register of approved gas engineers in the UK. The video explains the changes, and also talks about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Just in case you didn’t know:
- Tenants must get a copy of the gas safety certificate for their property from their landlord.
- This certificate shows that gas appliances have been safety checked and serviced once a year by Gas Safe Registry registered engineer.

Visit Gas Safe Register website to find a certified engineer or read more about safety in your home.

The video was originally posted in YouTube by ShoutCatherine.