Data from flatshare site SpareRoom suggests London is now entirely unaffordable to graduates, thanks to sky-high rents.
September sees many new graduates flock to London. However, average room rents in the capital and surrounding areas are at a record high, reaching £1,013 in August.
According to SpareRoom’s latest Quarterly Rental Index, not one postcode in the capital has average room rents that are ‘affordable’ on the average London graduate salary of £29,000 (equating to a monthly take-home of £1,932 after tax).
This is based on traditional affordability standards, which state rent shouldn’t cost more than 30 per cent of your income.
But SpareRoom claims high rents and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis have rendered this 30 per cent benchmark unrealistic, with the majority of Londoners spending in excess of that.
The cheapest postcodes for graduates wishing to move to the capital are E12 (Manor Park) at £714, SE28 (Thamesmead) at £741 and E7 (Forest Gate) at £753, where young professionals can expect to spend 37, 38 and 39 per cent of their salary on rent respectively.
Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom director comments: “Rocketing rents and an ongoing cost of living crisis means very little of London is affordable on an entry-level salary, and prospective graduates may now be priced out.
“With many businesses traditionally based in London relocating to other cities, and remote working becoming far more common, the capital is likely to dominate the graduate job market far less in years to come.”
Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions.
If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
Please help us by reporting comments you consider to be unduly offensive so we can review and take action if necessary. Thank you.
.jpg)
%20(002).png)
.png)
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
They'll have to go to an area where they can afford the rent' in the cold up north
Too draughty for them and full of damp and mould if you listen to Generation Rent, Acorn, Shelter, Ginger Groups.
Over populate an area and that's the result.
Every single Government of any political hue has lied about the "North" it's not Game of Thrones beyond the Watford Gap, we see it yet again with HS2 why was it started from London? It should have started East West and then South because you can already go North but try getting across from Newcastle to Liverpool and you might as well learn to knit fog.
Creating low tax zones for business and Freeports would do much to create jobs and redistribute wealth for a better balanced economy but no party is interested and rather stay tucked up in Islington.
They don't have to work in London.
But that's where their night life is ,after all they are ''entirled'' aren't they
Please login to comment