HousingAnywhere, a rental platform for mid-to-long-term tenancies, has expanded into the UK by covering London, Manchester and Birmingham.
The platform is tailored to meet demand from students and young professionals who are internationally mobile.
As it stands the platform has a particularly big presence in Berlin and Rotterdam in Germany and The Netherlands respectively. At the time of writing there are 1552 listing in Berlin alone.
Djordy Seelmann, chief executive of HousingAnywhere, said: “Entering the UK was clearly the next step for HousingAnywhere, as we aim to match the rising demand of internationally-mobile students, young professionals and expats in London, Manchester and Birmingham.
“With this expansion, we are enabling people to safely find a new home not only in mainland Europe, but also in the UK and in more corners of the world.”
The platform can be used to specify move-in and move-out dates, and including a 48-hour warranty system. It’s therefore designed to provide a flexible alternative for potential renters that can book months in advance.
In 2021/2022 there were almost three millions students at UK higher education institutions with a record number of applicants applying to study in 2020, 2021 and 2022, despite the pandemic, according to UCAS (The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service), and HousingAnywhere data shows that searches on the platform for accommodation in London have been growing considerably over the last few years.
Searches for rentals in London rose by 37.7% in 2022 compared to the previous year, and have continued its growth by 37.9% in the first quarter of 2023.
Like other European cities, popular cities in the UK are facing housing challenges due to a structural lack of supply of available housing, driving rental prices to increase.
However, with the increase in serviced apartments, monthly rentals, co-living and PBSA in London as well as in other cities in the country, HousingAnywhere aims to partner with these providers and landlords to ‘set the new standard of renting’.
The group has previously partnered with around 300 European universities to help both inbound and outbound students find their new home, and the company has ambitions to expand this collaborative approach in the UK and at an international scale.
The entrance into the UK markets comes at an exciting time of global expansion for HousingAnywhere.
At the same time as the UK, HousingAnywhere has entered into the US, specifically New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago.
Since Covid-19, the US has seen a 3.8% yearly increase in the number of international students after a downward trend in the previous years, resulting in a strong demand for rental accommodation.