Prime London rents edged back into growth in March even as the sales market stayed under pressure, giving landlords a clearer read on where demand is still holding up. New data from LonRes shows average rental values across prime London rose 0.3 percent year-on-year in March, reversing three straight monthly declines, while sales transactions were 41 percent lower than a year earlier.
Prime London sales stay weak as stock rises
Sales activity across the capital’s most expensive neighbourhoods remains sluggish. LonRes said transactions in March were down sharply on 2025 levels, while available stock for sale rose 13.8 percent year-on-year. New instructions also increased, but that extra supply has not yet translated into completed deals.
That matters for landlords because weak sales conditions can keep some higher-value homes in the rental market for longer. It also helps explain why discounting has become more common on the sales side while the lettings side has found a floor.
Landlords watching the top end of London should also note that this is not simply a recovery story. Supply of rental homes expanded fast, with agreed lets up 36.3 percent and new rental instructions up 61.7 percent from a year earlier. In other words, rents are rising again even with much more stock on the market.
Lettings demand proves more resilient than sales
For landlords, the more useful signal is that the prime lettings market is still clearing homes despite a bigger choice for tenants. That suggests demand has not disappeared – but it is more price-sensitive than it was during the post-pandemic rush.
Nick Gregori of LonRes said buyers were returning to viewings and agreed offers were picking up, but sales volumes remained low as mortgage costs and wider economic uncertainty held back confidence. For landlords, that split between hesitant buyers and active tenants may support rental demand through the second quarter.
A practical warning sits behind the headline. Rising stock means landlords cannot rely on scarcity alone, especially in areas where affluent tenants now have more room to negotiate. Presentation, pricing and speed of response are likely to matter more than they did when prime stock was tighter.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on prime London transactions falling 31 percent as tax changes and non-dom rules bit. The latest LonRes figures suggest that sales weakness has persisted, but the lettings market is proving steadier than the sales headlines imply. Landlords also face a broader backdrop of softer pricing power, as seen in Landlord Knowledge’s recent coverage of rents stalling across the wider market.
For now, the main takeaway is that prime London is not moving in one direction. Sales remain thin and price growth is absent, but the rental side is still finding enough demand to support modest growth. That is a better outcome than many landlords might have expected given the volume of new instructions coming through.
For property investors considering whether to sell or hold, the figures point to a market where income may look more dependable than capital growth in the short term. The pressure point is no longer a lack of tenant interest. It is whether landlords can hold rents firm while competing against a broader choice of stock. The primary data is available in LonRes’s March 2026 prime London market briefing.
What this means for landlords
- If you let in prime London: demand is still there, but tenants have more choice, so pricing discipline matters.
- If you were planning to sell: weak transaction volumes suggest a quick disposal may still require a discount.
- Watch for: whether rising rental stock starts to cap further rent growth over spring.
- Bottom line: rental income looks firmer than sales values in prime London right now.
Editor’s view
Prime London is giving landlords a simple message: income is holding up better than values. That does not make this an easy market, but it does mean owners with the balance sheet to wait may find lettings offer more support than a sale this spring.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 20 April 2026
Sources: LonRes
Related reading: Prime London transactions fall 31% as tax changes and non-dom rules bite
