City centre rental premium quantified - but how long will it last?

A survey by a personal finance service has identified the traditional premium for a city centre rental property, and attempts to quantify savings a tenant could make by moving further away.

Thinkmoney claims the average UK city centre tenant can save £225 per month, or £2,700 per year, by moving just four to five miles into the suburbs. 

The site has looked at 23 city centre locations, comparing their average rents with nearby suburbs. 

In general, the findings suggest the average rent in a city-centre location is £1,087 per month – over half of the estimated average monthly income.

However, average rent in a nearby well regarded suburb is £862.

Renters in the city centre of Leeds, for example, could make huge savings by moving just five miles out to Horsforth. Here the rent averages £826 per month, which is a financial saving of £459 per month (down from £1,285). Annually, this amounts to £5,508. 

Manchester tenants moving to nearby Sale could save £386 per month, which amounts to £3,504 over the course of a year. 

And in Bristol a move of just a short distance from the city centre to Totterdown could see renters save £292 each month (from £1,370 to £1,078), which amounts to a financial saving of £3,504 over the course of a year. 

Thinkmoney analysed the average price of rental properties posted on Zoopla in 23 of the most populous cities, and then the closest highly regarded suburb, town or village to those cities.  

However, will the traditional premium associated in the past with city centre living still apply post-pandemic?