Research from Rightmove has indicated the location of the top-ten rental hotspots outside of Greater London, with Essex the clear front-runner.
Six of the top ten rental locations outside of the capital are in Essex: Southend, Wickford, Basildon, Grays, Chelmsford and Braintree. However, the top place to rent outside of Greater London was found to be Stevenage in Hertfordshire. Dartford, Bristol and Wellingborough also made it into the top-ten.
The full list is as follows:
| Rank | Area | Q2 2015 Average Asking Rent per month | Q2 2014 Average Asking Rent per month | % Difference |
| 1 | Stevenage | £833 | £748 | 11.3% |
| 2 | Southend | £783 | £705 | 11.1% |
| 3 | Dartford | £915 | £815 | 12.3% |
| 4 | Wickford | £932 | £820 | 13.6% |
| 5 | Basildon | £895 | £807 | 11.0% |
| 6 | Grays | £887 | £825 | 7.6% |
| 7 | Chelmsford | £903 | £866 | 4.3% |
| 8 | Bristol | £875 | £808 | 8.3% |
| 9 | Wellingborough | £582 | £544 | 7.1% |
| 10 | Braintree | £768 | £708 | 8.4% |
The top five areas have all experienced year-on-year rent increases of over 10%, in comparison to the national average of 4.4%.[1]
Record high
Sam Mitchell, Head of Lettings at Rightmove, commented that, ‘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.’ Mitchell noted 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.’[1]
Continuing, Mitchell said that, ‘in these areas of high demand it’s more important than ever for tenants to know how to make themselves desirable to landlords, so having their finances in order and good references is key to getting the property they want in such a fast paced market.’[1]
Sarah Roberts, Residential Property Manager at Strutt and Parker in Chelmsford, said that it was, ‘no surprise that both Chelmsford and Braintree make the top ten list.’ Roberts noted that both have, ‘good commuting links into London by train and road and are very good value in comparison to the capital for renting.’[1]
According to Roberts, savvy developers, ‘have already identified the buy-to-let investment potential in these areas and both Essex towns are seeing a boost in new build developments.’ She also suggests that, ‘a lot of the flats that come on to the rental market in these areas are snapped up in record time, often after just one viewing, due to their affordability and convenient location.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/where-are-the-most-in-demand-rental-hotspots-outside-london.html