New data from flatshare site SpareRoom reveals the areas in the UK where demand for rooms to rent is highest.
It's no surprise to see areas in the outskirts of London and its suburbs such as Barnet, Twickenham, Kingston-upon-Thames and Southall are in the top five for demand from renters. All have lower-than-average rents compared to London, currently £993 per month.
But second on the list is Smethwick in the West Midlands, where nine times as many people are looking for rooms as there are rooms available. Good transport links and its proximity to Birmingham just four miles east are pushing up demand for rooms here, where average rents are still under £600 per month (the UK average room rent excluding London is £661 per month).
Also close to Birmingham is Solihull, currently seventh in the UK for demand: there are currently 7.5 times as many people looking for rooms as rooms available. With demand so high, average monthly room rents in Smethwick (£584) and Solihull (£644) are both now higher than Birmingham (£559).
Stockport, connected to Manchester Piccadilly by a 10-minute train, is in eighth place for demand from renters, with 6.6 people looking per room available. The average renter would save £684 per year by living in Stockport instead of Manchester.
Barnsley and Huddersfield are seeing more than five times as many people searching per room available and both have average rents of under £500 per month, well under the UK average of £661 per month.
The highest-demand location in Wales is currently Newport (4.2) where average rents are £574 per month and in Scotland it's Glasgow (3.4) where rents are £697 per month.
The table below shows all locations in the UK which currently have more than five people searching per room available to rent:
| Location | Average rent per month | Demand: number of people looking per room available | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BARNET | £847 | 12.6 |
| 2 | SMETHWICK | £584 | 9.2 |
| 3 | TWICKENHAM | £928 | 9.1 |
| 4 | KINGSTON UPON THAMES | £921 | 8.5 |
| 5 | SOUTHALL | £797 | 7.7 |
| 6 | ALDERSHOT | £689 | 7.7 |
| 7 | SOLIHULL | £644 | 7.5 |
| 8 | STOCKPORT | £660 | 6.6 |
| 9 | ST. ALBANS | £821 | 6.5 |
| 10 | BROMLEY | £833 | 6.5 |
| 11 | HARLOW | £677 | 6.4 |
| 12 | TAUNTON | £623 | 6.4 |
| 13 | BOLTON | £553 | 6.3 |
| 14 | WOKING | £769 | 6.2 |
| 15 | WESTON-SUPER-MARE | £625 | 6.2 |
| 16 | LONDON - NORTH | £960 | 6.1 |
| 17 | GRAVESEND | £694 | 6.1 |
| 18 | CROYDON | £833 | 6.0 |
| 19 | ENFIELD | £811 | 5.9 |
| 20 | LONDON - WEST | £1053 | 5.8 |
| 21 | STAINES | £790 | 5.8 |
| 22 | WIGAN | £553 | 5.8 |
| 23 | HARROW | £816 | 5.7 |
| 24 | LONDON - NORTH WEST | £1015 | 5.6 |
| 25 | SALFORD | £802 | 5.6 |
| 26 | BIRKENHEAD | £514 | 5.6 |
| 27 | OLDHAM | £586 | 5.5 |
| 28 | HUDDERSFIELD | £474 | 5.5 |
| 29 | LONDON - SOUTH EAST | £946 | 5.4 |
| 30 | EASTLEIGH | £685 | 5.4 |
| 31 | BRACKNELL | £692 | 5.4 |
| 32 | MAIDENHEAD | £742 | 5.4 |
| 33 | BARNSLEY | £465 | 5.3 |
| 34 | ILFORD | £789 | 5.3 |
| 35 | DARTFORD | £779 | 5.2 |
| 36 | BATH | £781 | 5.2 |
| 37 | NUNEATON | £512 | 5.2 |
| 38 | KETTERING | £571 | 5.2 |
| 39 | STEVENAGE | £677 | 5.1 |
| 40 | SUNDERLAND | £504 | 5.1 |
| WHOLE OF LONDON | £993 | 3.1 | |
| WHOLE OF UK | £744 | 3.4 |
Source: SpareRoom.co.uk
Matt Hutchinson, director at flatshare site SpareRoom, comments: “Many of the highest-demand areas in the UK for rental property have a winning combination of lower-than-average rents, proximity to a large city, great transport links, and a strong and vibrant community.
“But there's no getting away from the fact we're in the midst of a supply crisis in the UK. If nine people are competing for every room in Smethwick then what do the other eight do? One of the benefits of renting is supposed to be the flexibility to relocate easily, yet too many people are still living with their parents and putting life and career plans on hold, others are stuck in areas they don't want to live in, and some are couchsurfing and technically 'hidden homeless'.
“The private rental sector is undergoing dramatic change as the Renter's Rights Bill progresses through Parliament, and tenants - who will benefit from greater protections against eviction and unfair rental increases when it passes - will also have to navigate a market where rented accommodation may be in even shorter supply than usual.”