Bradford, Middlesbrough and Sunderland are among the UK cities where renting a room is cheapest, new data shows.
The average room rent in these cities is less than £365 ($500) per month, according to a report by SpareRoom, which helps its users find shared accommodation.
Cheap rooms are also available in Belfast, Huddersfield and Stoke-on-Trent.
According to the report, all 50 largest UK cities analysed saw an increase in demand relative to supply compared to the previous year.
Brighton saw the largest increase in demand over supply (up 101% year-on-year), followed by Poole and Edinburgh, both of which saw an increase of 81%.
In London, the supply-demand ratio rose by 71 percent.
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For those who can afford to spend a little more on a room, Birmingham could be a cheap option, with an average room rent of £405, alongside Bolton (£408) and Derby (£418).
Those looking in London may want to stick to the north or east, where average room rent is lowest at £676 and £677 respectively.
“People can now choose where to live because it suits their lifestyle, not just because it’s a convenient commute,” said Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.
This is because “the last 18 months have completely changed the way we think about work. Some jobs that we were told were simply not suitable for remote work are working just fine from home thanks to the pandemic,” he said.
Read more: Britain experiences ‘gigantic’ rise in property prices
“The coming months will definitely bring some changes in how and where we want to live. This could be great news for some cities that have suffered from a shortage of skilled workers in the past.”
Renting may be the only option for those who cannot afford to buy a property as prices continue to rise. The government announced earlier this year that UK house prices rose by 13.2% in the year to June 2021, up from 9.8% in May 2021.
This means that the average property value in the UK is currently £265,668, according to new statistics from the Department for Housing.
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