Britain’s hottest rental spots are no longer in city centres but instead in the suburbs as tenants look to escape soaring monthly costs.
The rental supply crisis is now at its worst in Sale, Oldbury and Bootle where almost nine people are now searching for everyone available room to rent.
That’s according to flat share platform SpareRoom. It has which has compiled a ranking of 52 places across the UK where more than five tenants are searching for a place to live per available room.
It found that the fierce competition previously seen in inner city areas has now seeped into their surrounding suburbs as tenants seek more affordable places to live amid climbing monthly payments.
Just two cities – Salford and Inverness – feature in the hottest rental spots across the country as tenants have become priced out of city living.
Sale, which is just 30-minute drive from Manchester city centre, is the most in demand rental spot in the country.
Trendy spots such as the Northern Quarter and Ancoats have been snubbed by renters in favour of Greater Manchester suburbia.
Some 8.9 potential tenants were hunting for every available room in the town between April and June this year, SpareRoom says.
Rental costs are now £637 a month for a room in shared property.
While Sale has long been a popular spot – with nine people searching per room in the same period in 2019 – Oldbury has seen a huge surge in popularity.
It is second on the list of the most stretched rental markets in the country as between April and June there were some 8.8 potential renters per room, up from just 3.9 in the same time period in 2019.
Oldbury, between Dudley and Birmingham, is perfect for commuters into the second city or other spots in the West Midlands.
Landlords are charging £531, more than £200 under the £748 UK average, according to SpareRoom.
Bootle – just a ten-minute walk from Liverpool city centre is the third most sought after rental location with 8.6 people hunting for each room. This is up from 4.6 people in 2029. Monthly rents are even lower here at just £456 per room.
Across all spots in UK, there were just 2.6 potential tenants hunting for a flat share for each available room between April and June.
This is actually lower than it was in 2019, when it was 2.9 tenants.
The south east is still a hotbed for rental demand as those commuting to the capital search for more affordable rooms. It makes up a huge swathes of the hottest rental spots – from Clacton-on-Sea in Essex to Tunbridge Wells in Kent.
Those priced out of inner London are driving demand in Twickenham, which now has 8.3 hopefuls per room, and Aldershot in Surrey where there is eight potential tenants for each flat share.
But a handful of towns near Manchester and Birmingham feature prominently in the most in-demand rental spots, too.
Aside from Sale, other areas around Manchester including Bolton, Stockport and Bury all make the list of the most popular places.
Meanwhile, near Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield, Solihull and West Bromwich among others are in demand.
Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, said: ‘Across the country, rental supply in the flat share market is still rising but that doesn’t do justice to the picture in suburbia, which is groaning under the weight of demand from renters priced out of city living.
‘When renters reach their ceiling of affordability, there isn’t really a choice, they have to move somewhere cheaper. The worry is that demand in these areas is now so high it’s inevitable prices will rise, until average rents are similar to those in the city they originally moved out of. And then where do renters go?’
While tenants are flocking out of city centres to more affordable pastures, there is a limited rental supply in suburban areas compared to city centres.
This is causing competition to heat up among flat hunters which is in turn driving up monthly room costs.
Rent prices across the UK have soared 30 per cent since 2019 – but some towns in the list have seen hikes more than double this level.
Cannock, a town in Staffordshire which is well placed for commuters to Wolverhampton or Birmingham, places just 45 on the list of the hottest towns. However, it has seen the biggest climb in rental costs over the last six years.
Between April and June in 2019 monthly rental costs were £389 on average but now they are £656 – a 69 per cent surge.
It has 5.2 tenants hunting for each available room.
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