In our latest property market report, the Relier Index – June 2025, gross rental yields in Canary Wharf were recorded at 6% for one- and two-bedroom apartments and 5.70% for three-bedroom apartments. The indexed figure was calculated using data from over five hundred current sales and rental listings in the E14 postcode. Actual yields may vary slightly from this figure depending on achieved sales and rental prices, as opposed to the asking prices on which the figure is based.

A 6% gross yield is historically high for London, which typically sees yields ranging between 2.5% and 4.5%, depending on the area. Canary Wharf has generally been at the higher end of that scale, with yields in more central London locations constrained by higher property prices and limited land for new development, which suppresses new supply.

Although not prime central London, Canary Wharf and the Docklands—being the business hub they are and home to many of the world’s best-known international organizations—benefit from many of the same socio-economic factors that drive the central London market. A strong and reliable tenant base is supported by high levels of well-paid employment in the area.

It is true that Canary Wharf has seen a glut of new housing stock in recent years. Supply of new housing in Tower Hamlets and the E14 postcode has outstripped all other London boroughs from 2011 to 2024, with over half of the E14 dwellings added since 1996—approximately 21,000 new flats and houses.

This may explain the relative increase in gross yields, combined with high stock levels coming onto the market, sharply rising borrowing costs, legislative changes, and tax treatments for second homes and buy-to-let properties. These factors collectively create downward pressure on property prices, while at the same time, a post-pandemic rental boom has occurred, with rental values up approximately 20-25% since 2019.

The increasing cost of home ownership—initially through price inflation and subsequently through increased borrowing costs—has also shifted more people from buying to renting, further fuelling the rental boom.

With all of these factors at play, it is no surprise that yields look relatively healthy by historic standards in Canary Wharf and E14. Net yields are a different matter and more difficult to report on, as running costs vary significantly. However, higher gross yields indicate that the market may be re-balancing itself to a point where net yields begin to look more attractive again, with the additional costs landlords are now bearing ultimately covered by tenants in the form of higher rents and increased gross yields.