Member Article

Research Shows How The Perfect Leeds City Centre Pad Is Evolving

NEW research reveals how high-speed Wi-Fi, quality kitchens and furnishings, good security and a central location all rank highly on city dwellers’ wish lists, when they’re choosing their ideal apartment in Leeds city centre.

The research, carried out by Leeds city living specialist Morgans, asked 150 new tenants who have recently started renting city apartments about what they wanted in their ideal property. At the top of the list was high-speed Wi-Fi with 79% saying it was important in their search with the vast majority of these saying it was absolutely essential.

In addition, 77% said a high-quality kitchen with good appliances was important, 71% said security was a big consideration and 69% wanted to be within a 10-minute walk of Briggate. Just 22% said a good energy performance rating is essential and only 15% insisted on having a balcony.

Morgans carried out a similar survey in 2014, and back then 76% said they were looking for furnished properties but this has risen to 93% today. Three years ago, 48% of city of renters didn’t require a car space but this now stands at 57%. Only 5% of renters now require two or more parking spaces, compared to 10% in 2014.

The survey also asked tenants about services they would be happy paying a premium for. 59% said they would happily pay extra for an on-site gym, approximately 50% would pay more for 24-hour security and a third would shell out for a concierge and a parcel collection service. Less popular options include communal lounge areas, cinema rooms, cycle storage and laundry services, with fewer than 20% saying they would want to pay for any of these.

Jonathan Morgan, Managing Director at Morgans says: “Leeds city centre’s residential market is extremely fast moving and has changed dramatically in the 20 years since Morgans launched. Back in 1997 there were only about 500 people living in the city centre, compared to approximately 11,000 today and their wish lists are continually evolving.

“Two decades ago high-speed Wi-Fi was unheard of and people often lived in apartments without ever using their kitchens, but growing numbers of food retailers expanding into the city centre has made cooking and eating in, a much more convenient option. This means the kitchen is often one of the first things tenants now look at when they view an apartment.

“Another one of the biggest changes in recent years is how many people now want to rent fully furnished apartments, meaning they can often move straight in with just their personal possessions. Balconies are also far less sought after nowadays and car ownership appears to have declined over the last three years, which is easing demand for parking spaces and is certainly good news for developers and for the environment.

“Our survey will no doubt make interesting reading for developers, as tenants obviously have very clear ideas about what they expect and are happy to pay a premium for.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Steven Wright .