Demand for flat sharers has soared in commuter towns around major cities, with year-on-year increases up to 100% according to Spareroom.

Scottish town Kilmarnock, 40 minutes from Glasgow, has seen the biggest year-on-year rise (+100%) in renter demand in the country. Whilst Esher in Surrey, which is 30-minutes from London Waterloo station, has seen an increase of 32% and also currently has the highest demand in the whole of the UK, with 11.2 people searching per room available to rent.  

Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, said: “Given how high rents are now compared to where they were five years ago, people are faced with no choice but to chase affordability. It’s not an urban exodus, but it’s certainly flatshare sprawl. 

“When even flatsharers are turning away from major cities, you know there’s a huge problem with affordability. More renters migrating to cheaper towns puts upward pressure on rents. These towns won’t be affordable much longer and then where do people go? Quite soon renters will simply be out of options. It’s bad for the economy too which relies on a flexible workforce. If people can’t take advantage of new job opportunities, everyone loses.”

The average room rent in 2025 in Kilmarnock was £588 per month, saving the average flatsharer more than £1K a year compared to renting in Glasgow (£683 per month in 2025).  

In the Midlands, West Bromwich – where 10.5 people are searching per room – Halesowen (9.8), Smethwick (7.4), Kidderminster (7) and Sutton Coldfield (6.7) are seeing some of the highest demand for rooms to rent in the UK.