While it might not feel like it if you're a parent footing the bill, students coming to study in the North East have a better deal than most when it comes to accommodation.
Despite students nationally now facing the highest living costs ever, those coming to Newcastle and Durham to study are bucking the trend, with average monthly rental prices in the student areas decreasing by 7% in the last 12 months.
With around 2.7m students already set to be hit hard in the pocket with spiralling fuel and energy costs, property data and insight platform, Homesearch analysed rental prices in high demand student suburbs across 25 of the UK’s top universities - and the differences are eye-opening.
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Durham University is ranked the second most affordable university to study at, with average monthly rents in student areas such as Gilesgate coming in at £806. Students heading to Newcastle can expect to pay on average £959 per month in areas such as Jesmond and Heaton, which is a £67 or 7% fall compared to last year's average rents of £1026 per month.
In contrast, freshers heading for Imperial College London might get a nasty shock when house hunting, with average rental prices in the nearby catchment area of South Kensington rising a staggering 58% in the last year from £4,419 to £6,980, making it the most expensive place to study in the UK,.
The University of Aberdeen is the most affordable in the UK, with average rental prices in high demand student areas such as Castlegate or Garthdee costing £712 per month.
The full results are below:
Most expensive
- Imperial College London – £6,980 p/m
- University of Edinburgh - £2,466 p/m
- University of Cambridge - £2,033 p/m
- University of Sussex - £1,801 p/m
- University of Bath - £1,785 p/m
- University of Bristol - £1,784 p/m
- University of Oxford - £1,672 p/m
- University of Birmingham - £1,666 p/m
- University of East Anglia - £1,626 p/m
- University of Leeds - £1,312 p/m
Least expensive
- University of Aberdeen - £712 p/m
- Durham University - £806 p/m
- University of Exeter – £832 p/m
- University of Leicester - £873 p/m
- University of Liverpool - £879 p/m
- University of Sheffield - £942 p/m
- University of Manchester - £945 p/m
- Newcastle University - £959 p/m
- Cardiff University - £984 p/m
- Lancaster University - £1,027 p/m
Sam Hunter, chief operating officer at Homesearch, said: “With rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis set to worsen, we feel the financial burden placed on both students and the bank of mum and dad is often overlooked. It’s interesting to see average monthly rental prices decrease in popular students areas in Newcastle when nationally they have increased by over a fifth in just 12 months. When you factor in that food, petrol and energy prices are all increasing, the cost to live and study at universities across the UK has never been higher and our data indicates that rental prices will sadly start to become a bigger decision factor when choosing which one to apply for.”
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