Just five London postcodes now have average room rents below £800 per month, highlighting the extent of rising costs in the capital’s flatshare market, according to SpareRoom.
Data from the platform shows that areas of E6 (East Ham), E12 (Manor Park), E4 (Chingford), N18 (Upper Edmonton) and E7 (Forest Gate) are the only locations where average room rents remain below the £800 threshold.
The figure marks a significant contrast to 2020, when 81 London postcodes recorded average rents below £800, including 50 where rents were under £700 per month.
Across the capital, the average room rent now stands at £978 per month. While this is down 0.5% year-on-year, the overall figure masks variations at postcode level, according to SpareRoom.
Some areas have seen notable increases over the past year, including W8 (Holland Park), NW7 (Mill Hill), SE4 (Brockley) and SE19 (Crystal Palace), which recorded the largest annual rises.
Market conditions have also shifted, with demand for rooms in London falling by 12% compared with a year earlier, while supply has increased by 4.8%.
Despite room rents stabilising after reaching a peak of £1,015 per month at the end of 2023, prices remain higher than pre-pandemic levels, when the London average stood at £773 per month.
Matt Hutchinson, director at SpareRoom, said: “Years of intense demand on London’s limited rental stock has inflated prices and made cheap rents all too scarce. Falling demand and slightly increased supply points to more renters being priced out of inner London, which is why we’re still seeing heightened demand in the suburbs and commuter belt.
“In reality, there’s no such thing as cheap housing in London now. If you do manage to find a room at £800 per month – and these are increasingly endangered – you’d still need to be earning a salary of £32,000 a year to afford the rent. This is over and above what many people in the capital earn, especially those just starting their careers.”
