Room rents fall in big cities as commuter towns see surge in demand

Room rents drop in London and Birmingham as renters move to commuter hotspots, according to new data.

Flat-sharing website SpareRoom reveals that Solihull and Smethwick have seen a surge in demand for rooms, as Birmingham rents fall for the fourth consecutive quarter to £555 per month.

SpareRoom also reveals a 1% drop in London rents, as the market stabilises following the post-pandemic surge.

London room rents have fallen

Matt Hutchinson, director at flatshare site SpareRoom, explains many people are choosing to live in more affordable commuter towns.

He said: “In major cities like London and Birmingham, rents have flatlined, and even marginally decreased, as the record spike in demand we saw post-pandemic finally subsides.

“Essentially, these cities have become too expensive and people who have the option to work remotely can live where commutes are longer but rents are cheaper.”

According to the data, London room rents have fallen 1% year on year and now average £982 per month. Rents in other regions have shown no change, including East Midlands, North East, Scotland, West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humberside.

Rents continue to rise elsewhere

However, SpareRoom adds despite a dip in some areas, rents continue to rise elsewhere.

Mr Hutchinson says: “Zoom out and view the rental market over years, not months, and it’s still trending upwards. What we never see are sustained decreases taking rents down to affordable levels. Rents go up, then flatline at the new level for a while.

“They never seem to come down by much. Wage increases have never kept pace with rent rises, or the spiralling cost of living, so the affordability gap gets ever wider. While there are more people searching for somewhere to live than rooms available, rents will keep heading north.”

According to SpareRoom, Northern Ireland and East Anglia have seen the sharpest annual rent increases, up 5% and 4% respectively.

Among the UK’s 50 largest towns and cities, Blackpool tops the list with a 9% year-on-year rise, followed by Southend-on-Sea at 6%. Ipswich, Newcastle, and Oxford have each seen 5% increases.

Meanwhile, rents have fallen by 3% year-on-year in Bolton, Bradford, Edinburgh, and Nottingham.

Outside of London, Kingston upon Thames is the most expensive area for renters, with average monthly rents at £926, while Bootle is the cheapest at £462.

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