Howsy: Newport has highest demand for shared rental homes

The research looked at the level of let agreed shared rental homes as a percentage of the total stock listed on the major portals.

Howsy: Newport has highest demand for shared rental homes

Tenants in Newport have the highest appetite for shared rental properties in the UK, according to research by lettings management platform Howsy.

The research looked at which city was home to the highest level of let agreed shared rental homes, as a percentage of the total stock listed on the major portals, to see where there was demand for shared rentals in anticipation of the lockdown lifting.

Newport, where 21% of shared rental properties listed were already let, ranked at the top of the list.

This was closely followed by Bristol (17%), Nottingham (14%) and Glasgow (13%).

Lowest on the list, at 0%, was Edinburgh, while Leeds (1%), Oxford (2%), Newcastle (2%) and Aberdeen were not close behind.

In London, shared accommodation demand stood at 6%, around the middle of the overall list.

The average across all UK cities was 7%.

Calum Brannan, founder and CEO of Howsy, said: “It’s interesting to see where shared rental accommodation is most in demand at present and this is no doubt due to tenants attempting to beat the lockdown boredom of living alone.

"However, the best course of action for the moment is to, of course, sit tight and only move property if absolutely necessary.

"But while the market has somewhat ground to a halt due to the current pandemic, many are still managing to progress their hunt for a rental property online.

"Sitting tight doesn’t mean you can’t get your ducks in a row and now that technology has advanced the UK rental sector to a huge degree, you can do everything required to secure a rental property from communicating with landlord and agent, digitally signing documents and paying your deposit without leaving the house.

"This means that once normality does return, you’re ready to move and can beat the rush of an inevitable influx of market activity.”