Essex towns are the most in-demand areas for renters, new study reveals

Six of the top ten rental hotspots outside of Greater London were in Essex, according to Rightmove

Essex is the rental location of the moment, with people queuing to live in the area due to its accessibility to London and lower prices, according to property website Rightmove.

Rightmove found that six of the top ten rental hotspots outside of Greater London were in nearby Essex. These were the towns of Wickford, Basildon, Grays, Chelmsford and Braintree – which are all in commuting distance of the capital.

By taking searches on the website, query emails and property detail views into account, Rightmove found that Stevenage in Hertfordshire was the most in demand place to rent outside of Greater London, shortly followed by Southend.

“Demand for quality rental properties is at a record high, and the most sought after areas such as Stevenage and places in Essex are all within easy commuting distance of the capital,” said Sam Mitchell, Head of Lettings at Rightmove.

He explained that “all of these hotspots benefit from an average asking rent of under £1,000 per month compared to the Greater London average of over double that.”

Areas which made the top five have seen rents going up by 10 per cent year-on-year, despite them being popular for being more affordable than the capital.

Dartford in Kent, Bristol and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire were also in the top ten. Inside of Greater London, areas towards the outskirts were are the most popular. Sidcup, Bexleyheath and Edmonton took the top three spots.

In the North West, Manchester was the most sought-after area to rent in. In Wales it was Colwyn Bay and Tamworth in the West Midlands. Pudsey was the location du jour for those in Yorkshire and the Humber.