The head of London’s biggest estate agents has said people will have to start moving out of the capital over soaring rental costs.
Renting across the city only seems to be getting more pricey for property hunters.
And with prices showing no sign of reducing, one estate agent boss has weighed in on what will happen next.
Guy Gittins, who is Chief executive of Foxtons, London’s largest estate agents, has dubbed the lack of rental options so ‘dramatic’ the people will have to leave the city.
He said: ‘We absolutely don’t welcome this but people are going to have to move.’
Mr Gittins explained those who are struggling with costs ‘have to compromise on the property type or location’.
It comes as Foxtons recently revealed their annual profits doubled last year, including revenue from lettings up 17%.
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While many have blamed prices of London rental options as the problem, Mr Gittins has a different verdict.
‘The main issue is not affordability for the majority of the market – it’s the stock issue,’ he added to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
He says ‘unhealthy’ supply and demand was impacted in the UK ‘in particular’ by the government’s ‘mini-budget’.
This led to a fall in buy-to-let mortgage deals with investors left relying on less stable interest-only mortgages.
However, the company has offered up hope to buyers looking to snap up a property later on this year.
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Foxtons added in a statement: ‘Mortgage rates have started to reduce in recent weeks and buyer activity is picking up, which may result in a more favourable sales market in the latter part of the year.’
It comes as Sadiq Khan told Metro.co.uk what he planned to do about the wild rental costs in the city.
He told us: ‘We have got to reduce the cost of renting in London.
‘I am the first mayor to introduce a London Living Rent, we have started building record numbers of council homes because they are more affordable and we have got shared ownership and buy in part rent to reduce the cost of home ownership as well.’
It came after the The London mayor was urged to offer reduced rent to women due to the gender pay gap.
He was further probed at City Hall’s women’s policy summit earlier this week, and added: ‘We want to freeze rents over the next two years in London, we want to work on a London Commission to bring in rent controls. All those things will help women in particular.’
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