Rent or buy in London?
In London the average home costs £552,655 (HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026) while the average private rent is £2,294 a month, or £27,528 a year (ONS PIPR, May 2026). The price-to-rent ratio is 20.1, which tends to favour renting on the conventional rule of thumb (UK average 16.3).
- Price-to-rent ratio
- 20.1
- <15 buy · 16–20 balanced · >20 rent
- Average house price
- £552,655
- UKHPI
- Average monthly rent
- £2,294
- ONS PIPR
- Annual rent
- £27,528
The price-to-rent ratio is the average house price divided by one year of rent. It is a like-for-like value signal, not a mortgage calculation: it ignores interest rates, maintenance and house-price growth, so treat it as a starting point rather than personal advice.
Similar areas by price-to-rent
- Cardiff19.5 ratio
- Milton Keynes19.8 ratio
- Derby20.1 ratio
- Oxford20.2 ratio
- Yorkshire and The Humber20.2 ratio
- South West20.4 ratio
See also: years of salary to buy in London · full house prices in London
Frequently asked questions
- Is it cheaper to rent or buy in London?
- In London the average home costs £552,655 (HM Land Registry UKHPI, April 2026) and the average private rent is £2,294 a month, or £27,528 a year (ONS PIPR, May 2026). That is a price-to-rent ratio of 20.1, which tends to favour renting on the conventional rule of thumb.
- What is the price-to-rent ratio in London?
- The price-to-rent ratio in London is 20.1 — the £552,655 average house price divided by £27,528 of annual rent. A ratio below 15 is usually read as favouring buying, 16–20 as balanced, and above 20 as favouring renting.
- How much is rent in London?
- The average monthly private rent in London is £2,294 (ONS Price Index of Private Rents, May 2026).
- Does London favour renting or buying compared with the UK?
- London's price-to-rent ratio of 20.1 compares with 16.3 for the UK as a whole, so relative to renting, buying here is pricier than the UK average.
Sources: house price — HM Land Registry — UK House Price Index (UKHPI) (April 2026); rent — ONS — Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics (May 2026). Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. UKHPI and ONS PIPR are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.