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Flatshare Rents to Rise 4.3% in 2013

04/01/12- The cost of flatsharing in the UK will rise 4.3% by the end of 2013, according to flatsharing website easyroommate.co.uk.

Research carried out by easyroommate.co.uk showed falling numbers of rooms available to rent and consistent demand from renters in the flatshare market has caused average rents to grow by an average of 0.35% a month since January 2012. With the supply and demand trends showing no sign of reversing, flatsharers can expect rents to grow 4.3% over the course of the year. Average rents are expected to reach £448 per month by December 2013 compared to the current average of £430 per month. This expected increase to rents will drive up the average annual flatshare cost by £219.

Since January 2012 the number of bedrooms available for flatsharers to rent has fallen by over two fifths (44%). Over the same period demand has remained steady and this has put even more strain on an already stretched supply of rooms. This supply and demand imbalance has caused rents to rise 3.6% (£415 to £430 per month) since January 2012.

Jonathan Moore, director of easyroommate.co.uk, said: “The last few years have been tough for renters and 2013 will be no different. Falling numbers of rooms available to rent is putting strain on supply and leading to higher and higher rents. Flatsharing remains a much more cost-effective option for renters but anyone hoping to rent a room this year needs to be aware of the rising costs and factor this into their budgeting.”

At a regional level, The West Midlands has seen the largest rise in average flatshare rents over the last twelve months. If this rate of growth continues, flatsharers in the West Midlands can expect to see average rents end 2013 3.9% higher than their current level. It’s a a different story for sharers in Wales who have seen the largest fall in average rents with prices dropping 2.6% over the same period. If this trend continues flatshare rents in Wales will fall a further 3% this year. London has seen rents stay relatively flat over the last year with average monthly prices growing only 0.3%. The same growth this year will see rents rise 0.7% by the end of 2013.

Rise of the ‘Grey Lodger’
There has been a significant rise in the number of retired flatsharers over the last year. Since January 2012, easyroommate.co.uk has seen the number of retirees looking for short-term flat-share accommodation. Over the last 18 months the number of retired enters has increased by over a third (34%).

Over this period the average desired rental period specified by retirees hoping to flatshare has fallen from over six months to just over four months. This drop in the average length of stay combined with the rise in the number of retired renters suggests more retirees are using flatsharing as a cost-effective stop-gap during the downsizing process.

3.2m homeowners plan on downsizing properties in order to help fund retirement[i] and many of these will need short-term accommodation if they have sold their home but have been unable to a find suitable downsize property to purchase.

Jonathan Moore, said: “The finances of those about to retire and those in the early stages of retirement have taken a serious knock over the last few years. Many of these retirees have equity locked in their homes which they need to access to boost their retirement income. With the sales market in such a sorry state, downsizing is not a straightforward process and many find themselves needing to find short-term accommodation between selling their properties and finding a new home.

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Relief for tenants as competition cools

04/01/12- Tenants breathed a sigh of relief as competition for rental accommodation cooled in winter, according to the latest research from flatsharing website, easyroommate.co.uk.

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Easyroommate teams up with Globrix

14/12/11- Flatshare website Easyroommate.co.uk has agreed an exclusive partnership with property portal, Globrix.com, part of the Digital Property Group which also comprises FindaProperty.com and PrimeLocation.com.

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Flatshare market to hit 2.96m in 2012

12/12/11- An economic downturn and rising rents will force an additional 105,000 renters into cheaper flatsharing accommodation in 2012 according to flatshare website Easyroommate.co.uk.

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Easyroommate teams up with Email4Property.co.uk and Zoomf.com

30/11/11- Flatshare website Easyroommate.co.uk has launched a partnership with Email4Property.co.uk, the UK’s largest online network of estate agents owned by the Trinity Mirror group.

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UK renters face highest costs in Western Europe

22/11/11- With flatmates paying £360 per month on average, UK flatsharers pay at least 5% more per month than their European counterparts, according to Easyroommate’s analysis of nearly 33,000 UK, French, Italian and Spanish rental properties.

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New job costs more than first month's salary in start up costs

03/09/11- The soaring cost of living means a new graduate will face a total outlay of nearly £1,350 in their first month of their first full-time job, according to the latest research from flatsharing website, easyroommate.co.uk.

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100,000 new flatsharers as rising rents squeeze budgets

22/08/11- The average number of renters living as flatmates or lodgers has increased to 2,851,000 from 2,749,000 a year ago as renters abandon living alone to save on increasing rents. At the current rate of growth, the flatsharing population will hit 3 million by April 2013.

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Tenant demand soars with four tenants competing for each room

31/06/11- The average number of potential tenants for each rental room on the market has risen from 3 to 4.1 in the past 12 months according to easyroommate.co.uk’s analysis of over 86,000 room rentals around the country, and 30,000 flathunters’ profiles.

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Rising rents cause death of love nest

18/05/11- Since May 2010, the number of couples looking to share a flat with other tenants has nearly doubled, increasing by 91%. Now, couples looking to live with housemates represent 11% of all flat-hunters, according to easyroommate.co.uk’s analysis of over 60,000 room rentals around the country, and 35,000 flathunters’ profiles

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Lodging cheaper than renting in 4 out of 5 cities

29/03/11- Lodging with a homeowner is a much more affordable form of accommodation than splitting the cost of renting an equivalent two bed flat with a friend in most of the UK’s towns, according to the latest research from flatsharing website, easyroommate.co.uk

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EasyRoommate offers hotline as rental demand grows

23/03/11- Across the UK, there were 59,000 more people living in a flat or houseshare in 2010 than there were in 2007, according to flatmate website, EasyRoommate.co.uk. With this growing demand in mind, EasyRoommate.co.uk is operating the first dedicated hotline on the 24th March to answer questions from tenants and landlords looking for some flatsharing advice

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Flexible flatsharers are the UK's most mobile workforce

09/11/10- Flatsharers are far more likely to move across the country to find a job than other renters or homeowners, according to latest research from flatsharing website, Easyroommate.co.uk

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Easyroommate.co.uk launches first iPhone app for flatsharers

26/10/10- Easyroommate.co.uk have developed and released the UK's first iPhone application, dedicated to helping users find flatmates or flatsharing accommodation

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Housing benefit changes to swell flatsharing population by 10%

22/10/10- Changes to the housing benefit system could see the UK's flatsharing population swell by 9.4%, according to latest research from Easyroommate.co.uk

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Easyroommate teams up with Zoopla.co.uk

19/10/10-Flatshare website Easyroommate.co.uk has launched a partnership with one of the UK's leading property websites, Zoopla.co.uk, allowing users of Zoopla to browse over 20,000 rooms or flatshares for rent

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Smokers face housing crisis

19/08/10-The growing intolerance of landlords towards smokers is causing a growing housing crisis for smokers, according to latest research from Easyroommate.co.uk

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Flatsharing boom fuelled by recession-busting renters

25/08/10-Across the UK, there are 59,000 more people living in a flat or houseshare in 2010 than there were in 2007, according to flatmate website, Easyroommate.co.uk

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Students could save nearly £750 a year by avoiding university halls

27/07/10-Students planning to live in university halls could save nearly £750 a year by moving into private flatshare, according to flatshare website Easyroommate.com

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UK's most affordable cities for renters

12/07/10-Flatsharing website, Easyroommate.co.uk has calculated how affordable it is to rent in the 55 largest cities in the UK, comparing the average rent and average earnings in each city, with York coming out on top

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UK most expensive European country for renters

28/06/10-A study of over 110,000 UK, French, Italian and Spanish rental properties by flatshare website Easyroommate.co.uk reveals that a UK tenant pays at least £63 more per month than their European counterparts

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New rental properties fall by almost 50% as 'accidental landlords' are encouraged to sell

08/06/09- As the property market shows signs of a recovery and estate agents report increased buyer activity, the number of new rental properties coming onto the market has dropped dramatically, according to research from flat and house-share website EasyRoommate.com

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Renting by the room could earn cash-strapped homeowners £6,500 extra per year - and help them avoid having to sell

19/03/09- Cash-strapped homeowners could potentially earn thousands of pounds of extra income a year, even in the current economic climate, by renting out their properties on a room-by-room basis, according to flat and house-share website, Easyroommate.com

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