Up and Coming UK Rental Hotspots

• SpareRoom data shows a growing trend in interest in rooms just outside the UK’s major cities, with Stockport (+88%), Wolverhampton (+63%) and Bradford (+63%) leading the way
• People are also increasingly looking at rental properties further out of Central London, benefiting from lower rental costs and Elizabeth Line access
• The Elizabeth Line ramps up the popularity of commuter towns outside London including Southall (+210%), Slough (+87%), Romford (+77%) and Maidenhead (+69%)
• Clapham still takes the overall London top spot; however, searches decreased by a third year on year

Nationwide trends

Nationwide data suggests renters are looking to cheaper cities outside the likes of Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester.

Year on year searches for properties in Stockport, Warrington and Bolton rose by 88%, 62% and 56% respectively, whilst Wolverhampton (+63%) and Bradford (+63%) also proved increasingly popular.

London isn’t immune from this trend either, with towns and cities just outside the Capital also increasing in popularity, likely due to the Elizabeth Line. Searches for properties in Southall more than tripled between 2021 and 2023, rising by 210%, whilst searches in Ilford more than doubled at 128%. Other Elizabeth line commuter hotspots include Slough (+87%), Romford (+77%), Maidenhead (+69%) and Reading (+51%).

The London picture

There’s also been a big shift in patterns within London, as renters look for cheaper areas beyond the traditional flatshare hotspots.

Comparing the most searched-for London rental locations in 2023 vs 2022, the biggest climbers within the rankings were Abbey Wood (up 41 places from 99 to 58), Forest Gate (up 24 places from 86 to 62), and Crystal Palace (up 23 places from 90 to 67).

In the past two years, searches for properties in Abbey Wood have more than tripled at 210%, whilst searches for Forest Gate properties were up 157%.

The top ten biggest ‘climber’ locations tend to be between 7-11 miles from Central London, highlighting a growing demand for properties further from the Capital’s centre. Interestingly they’re also some of the cheapest areas to rent in the capital. These locations not only benefit from lower rent costs, but are also increasingly well-connected, with the Elizabeth Line serving many of the areas, including Abbey Wood and Forest Gate.

As a result, demand for areas within three miles of Central London is quickly decreasing, as well as in some previous rental hotspots such as Camden Town, where the number of searches dropped 45% in the past year.

Looking at the 10 overall most searched for areas of London, Clapham still takes the top spot, based on volume of searches. However, the total number of searches decreased by a third (33%) year on year. Similarly, whilst Islington, Canary Wharf and Battersea all remain in the top 10, each of these popular locations fell in the rankings, with Fulham leaving the top 10 completely. On the other hand, Wembley entered the top ten, climbing six places from 11 to 5 in the space of a year. Hackney, Stratford, Ealing and Greenwich are other top 10 areas that also saw an increase.

Average monthly room rents (incl bills) in top ten up-and-coming London rental locations

Average monthly room rent (incl bills) in top 10 most searched for areas