25 years on – How the super prime lettings landscape has changed since the turn of the millennium

From needs-based noughties to lifestyle choices

In the early 2000s, the rental market was largely needs based – 25 years later and the landscape, especially on the prized streets of prime central London, is somewhat different. Renting is now much more discretionary. Today a tenant’s decision to rent can just as often be motivated by lifestyle choices, and the link between renting and buying is much more fluid. People often register for both sales and lettings simultaneously while they wait for the property they want to buy to become available. 

The super prime rental market has really come into its own over the past 25 years and the ‘try before you buy’ concept has seen a generation of (often younger) tenants using it as an opportunity to explore a new neighbourhood or experiment with a different style of home. Also on trend is the idea of renting a city pied-à-terre or country bolthole as an alternative to the primary residence.

Prime renters are younger and more footloose

In the last 25 years the average age of tenants in prime central London (PCL) has steadily fallen, and in the past five or six years we’ve seen the average age drop substantially. From an average age of 55, this year 73% are aged between 30 and 50, while 12% are between 20 and 30 years old.

Tenants today are a lot more footloose than they were. In the past they would tend to come to a specific area for a school or because it was within 20 minutes of the office. Now, people are far more flexible. Largely that has been prompted by a post-Covid environment but there are other factors at play too. For instance, if a development has a gym, concierge or work/live spaces, they are prepared to travel further for it. Where someone would once have registered only in Chelsea or Notting Hill, now they’re more likely to be considering four different PCL neighbourhoods.

The concept of the 5* hotel

Meanwhile, demand for state-of-the-art amenities has grown as tenants seek the comfort, convenience and luxury of 5*-hotel living – a game-changing rental concept still in its infancy back in the year 2000. Barely on the radar 25 years ago, decent broadband is now an expectation. Turnkey serviced apartments are also in demand.

Finally, for many a home simply isn’t home without the comforting welcome of a much-loved pet. For that reason, property that accommodates those faithful companions is now high on the agenda for today’s prime renters.

Further information

Contact Amelia Greene or Isabella Birch Reynardson

Twenty-five years later – how has the housing market changed since the turn of the Millennium?