You can now find out how much it would cost to rent a house in different parts of the country over a ‘lifetime of renting’ – assumed to be 50 years – thanks to a new Proptech tool designed by furnishing company Thomas Sanderson. This clever piece of software also compares the average cost of buying a property now against those lifetime renting costs.
So how does it work? Well, it’s really easy – just go to https://bit.ly/2Euli6p and enter your chosen postcode or city. The app will work out how much it would cost to rent a house in that area for a total of 50 years. The software brings up a map of the area that you have chosen, showing different average rents for different postcodes. If you then click on your chosen postcode, you can see the difference in lifetime rental payments and the cost of buying a home in the same area.
Ringley is based in London NW1, so we thought we’d do some comparisons of our own. The results were staggering. A lifetime of renting in our area would cost a tenant £2.25M, while the average house price currently just tops £1M – a difference of 111%!
The app also shows the 10 most expensive locations for renting as well as the 10 most affordable. Areas that will eat up your rent the quickest are London – no surprises there – Surrey and Berkshire. In contrast, the most affordable part of the UK is Scotland. It’s all maybe a little predictable but still an interesting exercise for renters, especially if you’re thinking of moving.