How to Check Rental Demand for any City or Postcode
I bought a property once that looked perfect on paper. Thirty percent below market value, rental yield numbers that made my spreadsheet sing. Only after completion did I discover why it was so cheap. There was virtually no homebuyer demand and tenant demand was dropping. There were more properties on the market than tenants looking for new homes in that area.
Properties on that street sat empty for months. The same listings appeared on Rightmove week after week, slowly dropping their asking rents. That mistake cost me six months of void periods as I had placed it with an out of area letting agent (who charged low fees) who simply couldn't get it let.
This lesson taught me how important checking rental demand for an area is BEFORE you even arrange a viewing. Plus it is easy to do from a laptop, from anywhere so why not. A couple of minutes due diligence can save you thousands of pounds. Here we look at how you can check rental demand for any city or postcode before you commit to a deal.
Article updated: December 2025
Contents
- Your 5-Minute Rental Demand Check
- Red Flags That Scream Weak Demand
- How to Check Current Rental Listings
- Time on Market: What the Numbers Mean
- Vacancy Rates and Market Strength
- Speaking with Letting Agents
- Why Population Data Actually Matters
- The Employment Picture
- Checking Demand for HMOs
- Frequently Asked Questions
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by Robert Jones, Founder of Property Investments UK
With two decades in UK property, Rob has been investing in buy-to-let since 2005, and uses property data to develop tools for property market analysis.
Your 5-Minute Rental Demand Check
Before you read another word, here's the quick version. This process takes five minutes and will save you from most rental demand disasters:
- Open Rightmove and search your target postcode + "to let"
- Count the total properties currently listed
- Click the "let agreed" filter and count those properties
- Calculate: (let agreed ÷ total listings) × 100
- What is the percentage?
That ratio tells you more about rental demand than any estate agent's promises. I check it for every single area before I even consider viewing properties. If the numbers don't work, nothing else matters. Now it is not fool proof. A couple of lettings agents in the area may list properties for many many months as let agreed to make it look like they are active. This can of course skew the figures. So rather than a hard rule of 'x'% is good or bad. Compare it to the next nearest postcode or city. You can also compare it to another location far away that you aren't necessarily focused on as a 3rd referenece point. Have you found a location with similar property prices to buy the property, but much better tenant demand? Then maybe time to reconsider your options.
The rest of this guide explains why this works, how to dig deeper, and what to do when the simple check reveals potential problems.
Red Flags That Scream Weak Demand
Twenty years of investing has taught me to spot weak rental demand quickly. These warning signs mean you should either negotiate hard or walk away entirely:
- Same properties listed for 2+ months - The market is telling you there's no demand
- Multiple price reductions - Landlords are desperate, which means tenants have options. You can easily check these on various free property tools
- Declining population in Census data - Fewer people means fewer tenants every year. This can be a real concern.
- Major employer closures announced - For smaller areas, major employment closures can be devastating. If peoples incomes get hit, a slow down in demand and ability to pay the market rents can quickly follow.
- Your viewing is the only one scheduled - If the property were in demand, there'd be competition
I saw all of these flags with that 30% discount property. I ignored them because the numbers 'on paper' looked good. Don't make my mistake.
How to Check Current Rental Listings
Zoopla and Rightmove are the two portals you'll use most. Between them, they cover about 90% of the UK rental market.
Start with properties currently to let. Make a note of the count. Then apply a let agreed filter. These are properties where tenants have been found but haven't moved in yet.
But here's the critical part: don't just check once. Look at the same area over two weeks. Are you seeing the same properties repeatedly? That's your red flag right there. Strong rental markets refresh their stock constantly. Properties appear, let quickly, and new ones take their place. When the same two-bed flat has been listed since January and it's now April, you know there's a fundamental demand problem.
I track this systematically now. I'll open Rightmove on a Monday. Save properties in to my account, then check again the following Monday. How many properties are still there? How many are new? How many moved to let agreed? This rhythm tells me more about demand than any agent's market report.
Time on Market: What the Numbers Mean
Rightmove and Zoopla both show when properties first appeared. This timing reveals market strength more clearly than asking prices.
Strong markets: properties let within days. Seven days is excellent. Two weeks is still good - tenants need time to view multiple properties, agents need time to process applications and references.
When you start seeing properties listed for a month or longer, pay attention. Either something's wrong with that specific property - bad condition, overpriced, terrible photos, difficult landlord - or there's a broader demand issue.
Here's my process: I track five similar properties in any target area over a fortnight. If I'm considering three-bed terraces, I watch three-bed terraces. If it's two-bed flats, I watch two-bed flats. I note when they're listed and when they move to let agreed. This gives me realistic expectations for my own letting timescales.
In Manchester city centre, two-bed flats typically let within 7-10 days in strong areas. Move out to Bolton, and decent three-bed houses may let within 14-21 days. But I've looked at areas where properties sit for three months. That tells you everything about demand.
Crystal ball territory this isn't. But it's as close as you'll get to predicting your own property's performance.
Rental Turnover
Simply put this is properties rented per month as a percentage of current for rent stock.
Live, free, UK rental data isn't published the way US data is. However there are workarounds. For up to date insights you can use paid for tools like Property Data or you can check for free, historic data from Government data sources.
Some cities and towns that are growing like Peterborough in 2023 have. very high rental turnover. This creates a stressed rental market with too many tenants chasing too few properties. This demand pushes up rents for new listings and tenants have limited options.
Our UK rental market data analysis tracks some of these patterns across major UK locations.
Speaking with Letting Agents
Data tells you what's happening. Agents tell you why, and what's coming next.
Ring three letting agents in your target area and ask specific questions:
- Would you take on another [property type] in this postcode right now?
- How quickly do you think it would let?
- At what weekly rent?
- What type of tenants would it attract?
Good agents will be brutally honest. They'll tell you the market's flooded with two-bed flats. They'll warn you the area only attracts students and your property has no student appeal. They'll explain that yes, it's cheap, but everyone knows why.
An agent in Liverpool saved me from a purchase once. Property looked perfect. Decent yield, good condition, affordable price. But she told me straight: "We've got 15 similar properties and they're all struggling. The new build development down the road has flooded the market with better options." That honest conversation saved me from buying into oversupply.
Agents know the less obvious factors too. Upcoming developments that will increase competition. Local employers closing down or relocating. Why properties on one street let in days while the next street over takes months. This local knowledge doesn't always appear obviously in property data reports. It only comes from people working the area daily.
One warning: some agents will tell you what you want to hear to win your business. That's why you ring three, not one, to get a consensus.
Why Population Data Actually Matters
Here's what estate agents won't tell you: you can have the perfect property in an area where nobody wants to rent. Population trends reveal this before you buy.
Check the Census data. Is the population growing or shrinking? Growing means increasing housing pressure, which creates rental demand. Shrinking means you're competing for fewer tenants every year.
I look for 5-7% population growth over the last decade. That level of increase creates sustained housing pressure without overwhelming infrastructure. Our buy to let location guides show this clearly across UK cities. Areas hitting this growth rate typically have strong rental markets.
Age distribution matters but not how most investors think. Everyone says "target young professionals aged 25-35" but half of them are saving for deposits and desperate to buy. I've had more success understanding the full picture. University cities need student properties near campus. Former industrial towns often have aging populations who mostly own. Commuter towns attract young families who might rent for 2-3 years then buy.
The Employment Picture
Jobs create rental demand. Simple as that.
Check the employment situation. Multiple major employers beats single-industry towns every time. I learned this the hard way looking at a northern town where one factory employed 40% of the workforce. Factory announced closure. Rental demand collapsed within months. Properties that let within a week suddenly took three months.
Professional service sectors - finance, tech, healthcare, education - create stable rental demand from tenants who can afford your rents and maintain properties well. Manufacturing and retail can be solid but they're more vulnerable to economic cycles.
Manchester's mix of financial services, creative industries, healthcare, and three universities creates consistent demand across multiple tenant types. When one sector slows, others remain stable. That's what you want.
Watch for major infrastructure projects. New tram lines, improved rail connections, business park developments. These signal future employment growth. Buy before they complete and you benefit from the rental demand they create. I bought in Salford before MediaCityUK was finished. Watching that development progress while rental demand increased quarter after quarter - that's what good timing looks like.
There's a lag though. Job growth doesn't instantly create housing demand. Research what's planned for the next 3-5 years, not just what's there today. Planning applications tell you what's coming. Our investment strategy guides cover how to research this properly.
Checking Demand for HMOs
HMO demand requires different research. Rightmove and Zoopla miss most of the market because room lettings happen on specialist platforms.
SpareRoom and Coho dominate UK shared accommodation. Use the same analysis method. Count current listings, check let agreed status, track time on market. Strong HMO demand means rooms let within days. Weak demand shows rooms advertised for weeks/months with multiple price drops.
HMO demand is intensely localised. University areas, city centres near major employers, transport hubs. These generate consistent demand. Move a postcode away and demand can be massively reduced.
The critical difference with HMOs: you're not finding one tenant, you're finding four or five. That multiplies your exposure to void periods. One person moves out, you're 20% down on income immediately. Two rooms empty and you're covering 40% of costs from your pocket. An area needs genuinely strong demand to support HMO investment successfully, you cannot 'create' this demand, the city must already have it and provide for it and you want to compete on quality and amenities not price.
Check our complete guide to HMO investing for detailed analysis of what creates HMO demand and how to assess licensing requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does high rental demand always mean high yields?
No. Areas with high rental demand often have correspondingly high property prices, which kills yields despite strong tenant interest. London has extremely high demand but yields typically run 3-5% because purchase prices are so high relative to rents. Other major cities like Birmingham or Liverpool often combine good demand with better yields of 6-8% because property prices are more affordable for the local population. Check both demand indicators and actual rental yield calculations before investing. You need both to work.
How does seasonal demand affect rental property investment?
Seasonal patterns vary dramatically by property type and location. Student properties near universities have intense demand July-September but can be hard to let if listed in October to May. Family properties let best around school term changes. Holiday let areas see summer demand spikes but winter troughs. The key is understanding your specific property's seasonal pattern before you buy and a good property will let at anytime of the year, so dont let trying to time the cycle put you off.
Should I avoid areas with declining population?
Generally I do, however, understand why the population is declining first and by how much. Some areas lose population because young people leave for jobs elsewhere, that's a fundamental demand problem. Other areas might show declining population due to household size changes (couples replacing families) but household numbers stay stable, actuall rental demand holds up. It's possible to succeed in declining areas but you're fighting the trend.
What tools help track rental demand over time?
I use a simple spreadsheet tracking the let agreed ratio weekly for areas I'm monitoring. Takes 5 minutes per area each week. Search Rightmove and Zoopla, note total listings and let agreed, calculate percentage. After 8-12 weeks you'll see clear trends. Chrome extension browsers or property data subscriptions can automatically track individual properties and price changes, showing you which listings aren't moving.
How do I assess rental demand for new build developments?
New builds complicate demand assessment because there's no existing rental history. Check the broader area's demand first using the standard methods. Then add a haircut for new build oversupply risk - if 200 units complete simultaneously, all 200 compete for tenants at once. I look at planning applications to count how many units are coming online in the next 18 months. More than 50 competing units in a small area? Demand will be stretched. Also check who else is buying - if 80% goes to investors, you'll all be competing for the same tenant pool. New builds can work brilliantly but only if demand is genuinely strong enough to absorb the supply increase. This is often the case in major cities, where demand is so high, new build developments have no problem letting and indeed attract a premium.
Does rental demand vary by property type in the same area?
Massively. I've seen areas with strong demand for two-bed flats but weak demand for three-bed houses, or vice versa. Check demand for your specific property type, not just the area overall. Use Rightmove filters to view only similar properties. Same beds, same type (flat/house). Calculate let agreed ratios for that specific segment.
Can rental demand change quickly in an area?
Yes, and it can catch you off guard. Major employer closures, new developments flooding the market with competition, infrastructure changes, student population shifts. All can impact demand within months. It is one of the reason some investors focus purely on population to keep it simple. Growing population = Growing demand. It is a virtuous cycle as a growing population also attracts, employeers, investment and new infrastructure, which in turn helps the rental market.