“The best rental locations in any area depend on the market you're targeting. By knowing what different tenant groups prioritise, you can target the properties that will rent fast, stay occupied for years, and turn the biggest profit.”

Even the most popular street in Wilton or Salisbury won’t suit every tenant, and picking the best rental locations means researching your target market’s desires for where they live.

Different types of tenants want entirely different things from their surroundings - sometimes purely through personal preferences, but mostly driven by what stage of life they're at.

Whether you're a seasoned landlord or just starting out, understanding your ideal tenant’s priorities helps you identify the properties that will provide a swift, steady, reliable income.

With that in mind, let’s take a deep dive into what you need to know about:

Singles, couples and sharers
Families with children
Students

Downsizers and retirees

The pigeonholing risk

Because the best rental locations aren't the same for every tenant, building your knowledge of each group’s requirements is an essential part of making a smart investment choice.

Singles, couples and sharers

Culture, convenience, and social connection feature highly in the best rental locations for singles, couples, and professional sharers, including:

Transport links: Easy access to trains, bus routes, or major roads always top the list for commuting adults.

Social and dining spots: Local cafes, independent restaurants, bars, and a lively high street are a massive pull.

Entertainment: Venues for art, film, theatre and music give tenants an occasional or regular cultural fix, and they don't need to be huge multiplexes or arenas.

Convenience: Having supermarkets, gyms, yoga studios, and essential amenities right on the doorstep makes managing a busy lifestyle much simpler.

When you tick these boxes, you attract the best working tenants by making it easy for them to juggle a demanding commute, a lively social calendar, and their own personal fitness routines.

Families with children

While people don't entirely give up going for coffee or meeting friends when they become parents, their priorities for where they live most certainly shift, and the best rental locations for families include:

School catchments: This is almost always the number one priority. Being within the catchment area of well-regarded local schools drives high demand and long tenancies.

Quiet residential streets: Parents strongly prefer low-traffic roads that are safer for children and where neighbours can get to know each other.

Family-friendly amenities: Nearby parks, playgrounds, clubs and groups are a huge draw for parents looking for a balance of weekend activities and community.

Parking and practicalities: From the big weekly shop to family days out, having a car gets more tempting when parenthood arrives, and parking (on- or off-street) becomes a consideration.

Parents aren’t looking for a short-term stopgap; they want as much continuity as possible for their children's education, making a well-located family home a reliable and consistent entry in any portfolio.

Students

When it comes to the best rental locations for students, they're looking for an inexpensive lifestyle that’s close to where they study, which means identifying areas with:

Campus proximity: Being within walking distance or a short, reliable cycle ride of their university is a non-negotiable for most students.

Local lifestyle and connection: Areas traditionally populated by students offer a built-in social atmosphere for cheap socialising in each other’s homes.

Budget-friendly shopping: Locations close to a budget supermarket and late-night convenience store cater to the realities of student home life.

Accessible nightlife: Good bus routes or safe walking routes to and from a town centre where there are bars and clubs with student-friendly prices.

Quick tip: start the tenancy agreement in June or July before the academic year starts in September to minimise the risk of losing two to three months of rent each year when students go home for summer.

Downsizers and retirees

A growing segment of the rental market is made up of older tenants downsizing from larger family homes in search of a simpler, more manageable lifestyle. The best rental locations for them include:

Single-storey living or step-free access: Bungalows, ground-floor flats or buildings with a lift are highly prized, particularly with street-level front doors.

Peace and quiet: Downsizers mostly prefer peaceful, established residential areas, rather than edgy, up-and-coming districts or noisy nightlife.

Health and local amenities: Being close to a GP surgery, pharmacy, post office and local shops is a practical consideration.

Community: A pleasant, flat walk (or a short ride from a nearby bus stop) into a town centre for a coffee, the library, social clubs, or meeting friends.

Cater to this quieter market, and you’ll often find exceptionally respectful, house-proud tenants who really know how to care for a property, because they’ve usually been homeowners themselves.

Hedging your bets

Flexibility is a smart option with any type of investment, and being a landlord is no exception. So rather than appealing to just one type of tenant, the best rental locations give you more options.

Niche limitations: If an area only suits one narrow group, any local economic shift or change in demographics can reduce your market or your property’s rental value.

Future-proofing: Choosing a location with balanced infrastructure means you can pivot your marketing if tenant demand shifts over time.

Peace of mind: Knowing that you're not reliant on a single demographic provides a great deal of comfort that your property will always have an audience.

Ultimately, owning a property that appeals to more than one type of tenant gives your rental business the resilience and versatility it needs to handle whatever the market does next.

What are the best rental locations in Wilton or Salisbury for you?

Before you do anything else, let's talk about the rental market in the Wilton and Salisbury area and the best strategy for the properties or tenants you have in mind.

We spend all our time helping local landlords get the best return on their investments, so call us on 01722 580059 or message us at info@piccoloproperty.co.uk for a no-strings chat with our team.