New way for landlords to judge accommodation demand and supply

A lettings platform specialising in student accommodation has a new way to spot locations with excess supply.

UniHomes says Southampton, Portsmouth and Nottingham are the cities with the highest density of student rental availability, out of 23 locations. 

The platform has found that, on average, there are 1,669 student properties available to rent per city out of the 23 studied.

With a plan to return to physical classes now in place for many students, and many more searching in anticipation of a new academic year in September, the platform claims demand for student accommodation will climb, But it says investors are likely to want locations with highest demand in relation to supply.

In terms of total student rentals on the market, those heading to university in Leeds will have the most choice, with over 6,000 student lets currently listed on the market.

London is home to the second-largest level with 4,113 student rentals available, with Newcastle also ranking high on 3,358.

However, UniHomes also looked at this rental availability in relation to the size of each city to see which offered the most choice to students in terms of sheer density in a given location.

When looking at stock availability versus the size of each city, the south coast comes out on top as the current student rental hotspot of the UK.

There are currently 1,641 student lets listed in Southampton across approximately 50 square kilometres. This means there’s an average of 33 student rental properties per square kilometre in the city.

In Portsmouth, the 1,286 student lets currently listed equates to 32 homes per square kilometre, with Nottingham and Newcastle on 30, Leicester 27, Bournemouth 23, Liverpool 17, Plymouth and Oxford 15, and Bristol 14, also ranking as some of the UK’s current student rental hotspots.

In contrast, there are currently just 70 student lets listed in Bradford and with the city covering a sizable 366 square kilometres, this means there is an average of just 0.2 student lets per square kilometre.

In Swansea and Aberdeen, there is an average of just one student let per square kilometre, while Sunderland, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester don’t fare much better with just two student lets p/sk.

UniHomes founder Phil Greaves says: “Our research also demonstrates some great opportunities for landlords in cities with the lowest level of student rental stock. Students provide a consistent stream of rental income and in areas such as Bradford, there is a real gap in the market for student rental properties.”

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