What would Monopoly money get you in today’s rental market?

By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent

The world’s best selling board game – Monopoly – is a resident in many of our homes. Rewind to 1935 when the board came out, rental prices in many areas on the Monopoly board was much cheaper than today.

Celebrating National Monopoly Day and the 80th anniversary of the game (19 November 2015), comparisons by Weroom of average rental prices on the board compared to 2015 reveal just how much prices have sky rocketed.

So how far would Monopoly money get you today in the rental market?

Not very far at all.

According to the board, the affluent area of Park Lane costs £350 on the board. With the average rental price of £953 per month in 2015, your Monopoly money would get you a room for 11 days.

With the cheaper areas on the board, the £60 is costs to rent a room in Whitechapel would get you a staggering 45 hours and 36 minutes tenancy, based on its current average rental price of £950 per month. Its neighbour Old Kent Road also costing £60 on the board, with an average price of £814 would buy you 48 hours and 12 minutes occupancy of a room.

In the mid-range area of Marlborough Street costing £180, you could rent a room for only 6 days in 2015 based on its average room price of £850.

Thomas Villeneuve, ceo of Weroom.com, said: ‘‘It goes to show that London locations which eighty years ago were deemed less desirable are in high demand in 2015 given the current housing shortage in all areas of the Capital. It is amazing to see that since Monopoly launched 80 years ago, the rental market has soared to such heights.’’

It’s not easy to avoid weeping at the huge price differences as we dwell on what life would be like if rental prices in 2015 matched, or were close to that of the board. This research shows just how much demand has increased and rental prices have soared over the past 80 years in the Capital.

http://www.thelondoneconomic.com/property/top-10-ways-savvy-renter-london/01/02/