Industry News


Graduate hot-spots for 2017 revealed T


he best and worst places for graduates to live in the UK based on housing costs and other lifestyle factors have been


identified, just ahead of this year’s final exams being taken at universities. Announcing the results Nick Marr, Co-


Founder of TheHouseShop.com, said “Deciding where to live after graduation is a very important step in a young person’s life, and choosing where to set down roots after university can be a daunting prospect.” His company identified a set of ranking


factors giving a greater influence over career prospects and lifestyle, to provide a bigger picture of the standard of living offered by each area. This went further than last year’s report by including average graduate salary, average rental prices, house price affordability, cost of living, job availability and the all-important price of a pint of beer, among other factors. The results of the top five Graduate Hot Spots


in 2017 are:


1. Leeds 2. Liverpool 3. Exeter 4. Durham 5. London


At the other end of the table, the two worst areas for graduates to live are:


1. Bath 2. Canterbury


Affordability In identifying the winner, Mr Farr said “For the second year in a row, our Graduate Hot-Spots report has shown that students shouldn’t be blinded by the bright lights of London and should look further afield for the best quality of life. With its affordability, high average graduate salary, vibrant culture and active nightlife to enjoy on the weekends, Leeds is a fantastic place to live and work for soon-to-be graduates and is a deserving winner as this year’s top spot.” Leeds dominated across all the housing


ranking factors, scoring highly for cheapest rents and house prices making the city one of the most affordable places to make the jump from renting to buying. With a relatively high average graduate salary, graduates in Leeds could expect to take home £1,632.89 per month with a


disposable income of £1,160 left in their pockets. It overtook its fellow Yorkshire city of Sheffield


which maintained its affordable housing credentials but slipped down the chart as its average graduate salary fell, allowing Leeds to overtake it as the new northern powerhouse. Liverpool took the number two spot largely


due to its abundance of affordable housing options. With the average rent for a 2 bed home at just £589 per month, graduates would be paying less than £300 a month each and will only have to fight one other flatmate for the shower in the morning!


Incomes Earning a respectable third place Exeter earned mid-range rankings for many categories, but outperformed the rest for cheapest travel with a weekly travel card costing just £7.00. Exeter came middle of the road for property prices, with the average rent of a two bed home costing £822 pcm, and the average rent of a four bed home costing £1,414 pcm. Bath came in last place for having the highest


cost of living out of all 25 cities, leaving graduates with a less disposable income and


“In identifying the winner, Mr Farr said “For the second year in a row, our Graduate Hot-Spots report has shown that students shouldn’t be blinded by the bright lights of London and should look further afield for the best quality of life.”


savings potential. Bath continued to prove an expensive city for graduates to live in, with steep property prices in both the rental and sales areas of the property market. The famous cathedral town in Kent also


performed badly with the lowest earning potential for graduates and high housing prices, with the average rental price of a two bed home costing £1,073 pcm, in 18th place overall and the four bed homes not doing much better, at £1,423 pcm, 10th. The top 15 places are revealed in the


table below:


House building up but repairs down


Social housing has been the fastest growing part of the construction market in the past year official data has shown, but it’s not all good news for the sector with repairs spending down. Figures released by the Office for National


Statistics showed new public housing output stood at £404m in March 2017, an increase of 11.4 per cent on a year earlier, and up 4.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year against the same period in 2016. However, repairs and maintenance work in


public housing fell sharply in the same period. It was worth £529m in March, down by 13.5 per cent against March 2016 and down by 3.6 per cent in the first quarter compared to a year earlier. This reflects a squeeze on budgets,


possibly related to the annual one per cent rent cuts policy. New public housing followed a similar pattern


to the overall construction sector between February and March this year, with new build up by 7.6 per cent but repairs and maintenance recording a fall of 1.9 per cent. The ONS noted that new housing of all kinds


grew strongly in March, while repairs and maintenance “provided the main downward pressure on construction output”.


www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM July 2017 | 13


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