Thousands of students are set to make a move to Manchester this September after their A-Level results landed them a spot at university. The region's biggest institutions such as the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford will welcome more newcomers onto their courses in a bid to secure a degree.
After two years of the coronavirus pandemic, universities have this year seen a rising number of applicants which has put pressure on rental markets in key student cities like Manchester. The city's student rental market is now in crisis as new starters are struggling to find accommodation to live during the next academic year.
Analysis by estate agents Savills has revealed that the number of properties available for students to rent in Manchester is down 10 per cent on the normal amount for this time of year prior to the pandemic.
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This has recently been the case with Manchester Metropolitan University students struggling to find accommodation, with the university offering them £100 a week to live in a different city or town. The offer comes after first year students have reported issues with finding a place to stay in the city through the university’s accommodation portal.
Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) says the accommodation crisis has come after it had ‘significantly more offer-holders than anticipated’. While it works to secure places for student within the city, it says it has offered ‘temporary options’ with private hall partners, including those in Liverpool and Huddersfield.
“In Manchester, while location is still a top priority, a vast shortage of stock in the most popular areas means we are now seeing students broaden their search to areas of the city they would not have previously considered, and are prepared to commute further distances, in order to secure a property in time," says John-Paul Case, head of metropolitan lettings at Savills in Manchester.
“It’s really a case of you snooze, you lose – and we can expect competitive bidding to heighten the closer we get to the new academic year starting, continuing to push rents up.”
Savills surveyed lettings agents across its 60-plus UK offices and the majority (83 per cent) of agents reported that student demand arrived much earlier than usual this year.
“This year’s student rental market is a perfect storm in that there’s a shortage of suitable stock and a high volume of applicants, all at once," John-Paul said. “We saw students contacting our offices as early as April this year, looking to secure a property ahead of September, with most willing to pay rent over the summer to ensure that their accommodation was secured.
"As a result, a significant number of offers have come off the back of video viewings, primarily with overseas students eager to lock in a property before they get to the UK."
With student numbers rising, and fewer landlords entering the market, it seems unlikely that this pressure with ease soon.
"The competition that students are up against is vast, with new tenant demand up 54 per cent on the year," said John-Paul.
"Not only are we seeing a backlog of students who put their studies on hold during the pandemic come to the market, but also a return of commuters to urban centres, and revived demand from corporate relocation.
"And with rents increasing across the board, even those who are happily settled in their accommodation are back on the market, searching for a property that better suits their budget."
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