Print

Student ‘powerhouses' lift UK market

Student towns dominated June's property hotspots in the UK, new figures have revealed.

According to property website propertyfinder.com, housing markets in major university towns are being boosted by strong demand from students for rental properties. 

Twelve of the top twenty most popular places to look for property to buy in Britain in June were home to well-known universities.  Among those looking to rent, this figure was even higher; sixteen of the top twenty were university towns.

Overall, Cambridge was the most avidly sought after town in Britain in June.  More people searched for property in the city than anywhere else in the country, beating Oxford by a wide margin into second place, closely followed by Southampton.

Rental market busier

Not only were there more people searching for homes in these towns than anywhere else in the country, but there was also a big jump in the number of renters and buyers.

Despite a national slowdown in the housing market, the number of people searching for property to buy rose 11 percent in Cambridge in June compared to May, and has more than doubled in the six months since the seasonal low at Christmas. 

The rental market looks even busier.  There has been a 25 percent increase in the number of tenants looking for a home in Cambridge in the last month, and a threefold increase since Christmas.

Oxford has seen a more dramatic upturn in buyer interest in the last month, up 21 percent, with potential demand from renters up 20 percent. However it still lags behind Cambridge in terms of overall levels of interest.

Economic powerhouses

Nicholas Leeming, director of propertyfinder.com said: "The overall property market may be slowing down, but the housing market is not a single entity.  Some areas are doing much better. 

"Our two most famous university rivals continue to draw people to their cities, and this is repeated in university towns across the country.

"Both Cambridge and Oxford are also economic powerhouses in their own right, and that keeps people looking for somewhere to live.