Recent census data has indicated that there are more private renters in Wrexham and Flintshire in comparison to 10 years ago. 

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show 9,166 households were renting privately in Wrexham when the census was carried out in March 2021 – 15.8% of the 57,915 households in the area.

In Flintshire 8,839 households were renting privately when the census was carried out in March 2021 – 13.2% of the 66,911 households in the area.

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These figures indicate a major increase of over 4% in Wrexham from 2011 and almost 3% in Flintshire. 

Sion Bithell, sales manager for Northwood letting agency in Wrexham spoke to The Leader in November of last year about the demand for rental properties across Wrexham. 

He said: "Supply is at an all time low, much lower than in the last 10 or 15 years and the demand is also incredibly high which has pushed the rental market to an unaffordable level."

According to Mr Bithell, the demand for rentals is so high in Wrexham that in the first ten minutes of a property being advertised it tends to receive around 20 phone calls. 

The census figures also suggest it may be getting harder to join the housing ladder.

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The number of households owning their home through a mortgage, loan or shared ownership has dropped across England and Wales, from 7.8 million (33.5% of households) in 2011 to 7.4 million (29.7%) last year.

The same was true of Flintshire and Wrexham, where the share of households with mortgages or shared ownership fell from 2011 to 2021. 

In Flintshire the percentage households with mortgages or shared ownership fell from 38.2% in 2011 to 33.4% last year and in Wrexham the percentage fell from 33.5% in 2011 to 28.4% last year.