More than half of Scotland’s renters are being priced out of the market – with Aberdeen hardest hit, new research has revealed.
Analysis by insurer Admiral found 53.3% of people’s budgets are too low to afford the average rental in Scotland of £512 per month.
Researchers analysed 199,000 rental adverts to reveal where in the UK renters are being priced out and where demand far outstrips supply.
Aberdeen rent figures
They found that 66% of people in Aberdeen can’t afford the average rental price of £437 with an average budget of £389.
Aberdeen is also one of the UK cities with the least proportion of female rental shares, with only 10.9 per 100 available.
Similar numbers were seen within student-friendly accommodation (only 37.2 per 100) and disabled-access property (2.3 per 100).
On a table showing what percentage of renters are priced out by the average rental cost, Aberdeen ranked first for Scotland.
Average prices
Topping the table for the UK was Bath, where 87.9% of budgets fell short of the average rental price.
London was next, with 86.5% of renters priced out and an average rental price of £1,058 versus an average budget of £860.
St Albans, Oxford, Leicester and Cambridge followed, with Aberdeen in seventh place, then Newcastle, Glasgow and Hull.
Supply and demand
Admiral’s analysis also found that per 100 rentals in Scotland, 412 people were looking to rent.
Glasgow had one of the highest demands in the UK with 998 people looking to rent for every 100 rentals available, while Edinburgh had 535.
Aberdeen, in contrast, had 48 prospective renters for every 100 rentals.
Admiral’s head of home insurance, Noel Summerfield, said: “We are still waiting for the real results on how the pandemic will impact the market, but something we have seen over the past two years is that more than ever, people are considering a wider variety of UK destinations to live.
Price increase
“Aberdeen is a good example. The city was one of the most affordable to rent in Scotland, but in the past couple of years more and more people have considered it as an attractive place to move, and prices have seen quite an increase.
“This has also been spurred on by the rise of working from home. We’re moving out of traditional commuter cities, many of which still rank as some of the most expensive in the country and in Europe.
“Towns and cities which weren’t equipped for an influx of people – like Glasgow – are seeing this hit supply, driving rental prices up.
“Another factor is that today, some renters have different requirements. For example, some women want to live just with other women, members of the LGBTQ+ community might feel more at home at an LGBTQ+ accommodation, those with pets need a pet-friendly property, etc.
“A shortage in supply has led to landlords charging more for rentals that cater to any of those living arrangements. This means there’s tough competition and more people get left outside of the market.
“Also, the pandemic has brought a terrible economic crisis for many who have lost jobs and the possibility of better access to rent. Sadly this pushes people into being priced out.”
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