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Manchester Evening News

National

Phoebe Jobling

The new 'Metrolink map' that shows just how much it costs to rent a one-bed flat near EVERY tram stop in Greater Manchester

Metrolink Greater Manchester Manchester

Seven years ago, a Manchester-based digital marketing agency released a rental cost guide for Greater Manchester. Designed to look exactly like the Metrolink map, it revealed average rent prices for a one-bedroom flat near every tram stop across the region.

Back in 2015, the map's creator Kirsty Allen, now Digital Media Team 's marketing manager, told the MEN that she was inspired by a rent map that had been created for the London Underground, and wanted to do the same for our city.

The original Manchester rental map was a hit with our readers, and now - seven years later - DMT has brought out a new revitalised version showing what rent costs are like across the region almost a decade on.

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A lot has changed in Greater Manchester in the last seven years which has most certainly impacted the rental market. Two of the biggest factors have been the coronavirus pandemic and the cost of living crisis, which have pushed rent prices further up.

But other changes such as the mass of newly built rental homes in the city centre, and the addition of the Red Line going to the Trafford Centre, have also affected how the map looks now.

"We knew that rental prices had increased significantly since 2015, but none of us were ready to see just how much they had gone up," revealed DMT ahead of sharing the data.

So, where's the most expensive place to rent now?

The most expensive location on the 2015 map was torn between Piccadilly and Piccadilly Gardens, which had the highest average rent cost of £785 per month.

Fast forward to 2022, rent costs in Piccadilly are now £900 a month, with Piccadilly Gardens overtaking at £950 per month. But as times change, neither of these stops are even a patch on the most expensive areas to rent today.

Shudehill now tops the charts at a staggering £2,750 per month, which is more than three times that Piccadilly was back in 2015. DMT do say, however, that the average cost of renting in this location was raised by one incredibly expensive property.

Other areas include Market Street at a cost of £1,742 per month, Exchange Square at £1,547, Victoria at £1450, and New Islington at £1301. Both Market Street and New Islington were the most expensive out of these four areas back in 2015, but at just £734 per month - half of what they are now on average.

The Trafford area is the most expensive outside of Zone 1 in 2022, averaging at £1,101 a month, although this area did not exist on the map in 2015.

Back then, Salford was the most expensive area outside of the city centre with an average rent cost of £690 - which would be a fairly reasonable price today. Compare this to Salford Quays now, with an average cost of £1,163 per month, and it shows just how much rents are going through the roof.

The latest Manchester Metrolink rental map (Digital Media Team)

Where is the cheapest place to rent nowadays?

Back in 2015, the Hollinwood-Westwood part of the Pink and Brown Lines were by far the cheapest, with rent costs averaging at just £338 a month. But it is Rochdale, Ladywell and Newbold that are now the cheapest on the Metrolink map today, with an average cost of £450 per month.

Other cheap areas, with rent costs lower than £500 per month, include Eccles (£438) and Etihad Campus (£498).

Digital Media Team say: "We built this map the same way Kirsty (Allen) did all those years ago - by taking the average price of one bedroom rental properties across Greater Manchester from Zoopla.

"The issue is that in 2022 there are far fewer properties available in a lot of these locations than there were in 2015, even with the huge growth the city is experiencing.

"Signs point to the fact that we may be in the midst of a property crisis, and with rents continuing to rise, this will likely just get worse."