Manchester city centre has a lot of beautiful property, but rows of historic townhouses are extremely thin on the ground.
In fact, the neat road of St John Street is the only remaining Georgian terraced street in the centre of Manchester, dating all the way back to around 1785.
For generations, these stunning buildings have been used as offices, but in recent years they’ve carefully been returned to their former glory as four-storey homes.
And now they’re popping up on the local property market, with a couple of the houses up for rent.
They don’t come cheap, unsurprisingly, given a) their location just off Deansgate, b) the high-spec refurb they’ve all gone through and c) the fact that houses in Manchester city centre are practically non-existent.
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One of the Georgian houses on St John Street is currently on the market to rent for £15,000 per month.
Another is listed at £10,000 per month. Right.
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The Georgian townhouses on St John Street, Manchester. Credit: RightmoveSt John Street, Manchester. Credit: Wikimedia CommonsThe Georgian townhouses on St John Street, Manchester. Credit: Rightmove
They’re among the most expensive rental homes in the city currently, beaten only by the penthouse apartments in Beetham Tower and the Century Buildings.
For the top whack, you’ll get three bedrooms, three bathrooms, four reception rooms and around 3,000 sq ft of home.
The four-storey layout includes an entertainment room and bar in the basement, a huge kitchen and living spaces on the ground floor, a first-floor master bedroom with massive en suite and walk-in wardrobe, then another floor of bedrooms or office space.
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The Georgian townhouses on St John Street, Manchester. Credit: RightmoveThe Georgian townhouses on St John Street, Manchester. Credit: Rightmove
The more expensive of the two homes is currently undergoing its renovation, so pictures from a neighbouring home – finished to the same spec – are being used online instead.
Reside Manchester, who are marketing the Georgian rental townhouse, say: “The townhouse has been restored and renovated to its former glory, by utilising the highest of specification available, to include marble cloud tiling with underfloor heating to hallway and kitchen areas.
“The bespoke contemporary kitchen has been designed by Stuart Frazer and retains original fireplaces within the contemporary new kitchen.”
The listing continued: “The townhouse is furnished to the very highest of standards with no expense spared on the fixtures and fittings throughout the home.
“The basement level adds an extra dimension to the townhouse, having been beautifully converted to add a further entertaining area with bespoke bar, utility room and wine cellar.”
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You can see more about this amazing house, currently listed for rent at £15,000 a month, at Rightmove here.
Featured image: Rightmove
Property
Inside the regal Cheshire home for sale on one of Britain’s most expensive roads
Emily Sergeant
A stunning detached family home on one of Britain’s most expensive roads is currently on the market over in Cheshire.
In case you hadn’t heard, a recent report by The Times has revealed where you’ll find Britain’s top 20 most expensive roads for 2026, based off Rightmove data, and Congleton Road in Alderley Edge – slap bang in the middle of Cheshire’s iconic ‘Golden Triangle’ – has appeared in the top five most expensive outside of London.
So we snooped around to see what your money (… or your hypothetical money, at least) can get you on this street, and came across a regal residence currently for sale for a whopping £4.95 million.
This is Highclere – a six-bedroom detached family home occupying a private plot of over 1.3 acres and enjoying panoramic views across the adjoining Cheshire countryside.
This is Highclere – a stunning family home on one of Britain’s most expensive roads / Credit: Andrew J Nowell
Approached behind electric gates, and set back along a sweeping driveway, estate agents say Highclere has been ‘carefully and tastefully’ renovated by the current owners.
It now offers ‘spacious and versatile’ accommodation, and benefits from being within easy reach of Alderley Edge village centre and all the amenities it’s known and loved for.
Some of the stand-out features include an impressive reception hall with large sweeping staircase, open living kitchen with a large central island, large bedrooms, and a full leisure suite with a pool, jacuzzi, steam room, and showers.
There’s also a dedicated bar area, a games room, cinema room, and a gym.
Upstairs is where you’ll find what is described as the ‘unparallelled’ principal bedroom suite with two large dressing rooms, its own living area, en-suite bathroom, and a powder room, as well as four other large bedrooms.
Just as you’d expect, the outside of Highclere is as impressive as the inside.
The property is set within a private plot of over 1.3 acres enjoying panoramic views / Credit: Andrew J Nowell
Not only are there expansive terraced lawns with mature trees and shrubs and two large courtyards perfect for outdoor entertaining, but there is also a large driveway providing off-road parking for multiple vehicles and a detached double garage converted into annexe accomodation.
This property is currently on the market with Alderley Edge-based independent estate agents, Andrew J Nowell, for a Guide Price of £4.95 million, and if you fancy taking a closer look, then you can contact the agents to arrange a viewing.
Or you could just take the cheaper route instead and have a nosy at the Rightmove link here.
Featured Image – Andrew J Nowell
Property
Manchester rent is now ‘41% more expensive than five years ago, according to a recent study
Danny Jones
Yes, that’s right, as per some of the latest data on leased housing in central Manchester, it’s now approximately 41% more expensive to rent here than it was half a decade ago.
If you’ve lived in and around the city centre for long enough, chances are that you’ve already been feeling that difference, especially of late.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis roughly began in 2021, following the economy and the world essentially opening back up after multiple lockdowns, so it’s little surprise that new research has shown affordability when it comes to renting has been on a slump ever since, too.
As well as the price of seemingly most things in everyday life going up post-pandemic, the average rental rate for even just a one-bedroom flat/apartment has jumped up significantly between 2020 and 2025.
Even some ‘available’ housing in town is being hampered by claddin (Credit: Valienne via WikiCommons)
That’s according to the numbers crunched by credit card experts, Zable, anyway.
Not only did their recent report cite the rent prices going up even before the cost of living crisis – essentially following the outset of the Covid-19 outbreak – but if their figures, the rate of inflation and the unwaveringly high demand for housing are anything to go by, this trajectory is likely to continue in 2026.
As of February this year, around one in three UK households is now a single-person occupancy, which already comes with its challenges (the Manchester City Council tax discount being a thin lifeline for countless), not to mention energy bills and the cost of groceries continuing on an upwards trend.
Put in the simplest and most reductive terms, it’s now almost £300 dearer for most people to live on their own than it was back in 2020, and besides Liverpool clocking in as second on the list of increasingly expensive cities to live (a 42.12% increase), Manchester came in third.
You can see the full table down below:
Rank
City
% increase – 2020-2025
Difference from 2020 to 2025 in £
Average rental cost for a 1 bed 2025
1
Newport
47.39%
£2,611
£8,121
2
Liverpool
42.12%
£2,290
£7,727
3
Manchester
41.00%
£3,364
£11,569
4
Edinburgh
40.28%
£4,620
£16,090
5
Leicester
39.93%
£2,391
£8,379
6
Wolverhampton
39.22%
£2,049
£7,273
7
Nottingham
39.07%
£2,400
£8,543
8
Glasgow
38.02%
£2,679
£9,725
9
Colchester
37.63%
£2,617
£9,572
10
Cardiff
37.06%
£2,828
Average rental cost for a 1-bed 2025
Another fear is that with lots of people finding it hard to manage living in other major cities like London, even those moving to Manchester are also having an impact on how available affordable housing is here.
That’s why schemes such as the new ‘social rent’ development over in Wythenshawe are so important to the current generations of renters, with the possibility of owning your own property in the future becoming increasingly difficult for so many.
It’s also worth noting that Manchester ranked fourth among the British locations where the cost of living is said to have increased the most over the past five years, with the average difference in annual spend growing by an estimated 22.84%.
Daisy Jackson -
24th February 2023 
