TODAY'S young professional tenants are keeping pace with the latest property trends. Although the fact that professionals under 35 dominate the private rented sector - with a 75 per cent share of the market - has remain unchanged for the last five years, their choice of property to rent has taken a significant change in direction.

John Hards, operations director for Countrywide Residential Lettings, said: "Today's prime tenants were students just a few years ago, content with roughing it a bit with friends, in a house with indifferent facilities and decor and only a little concerned about the cleanliness of their surroundings. As long as they could get to college and somewhere cheap for a night out, they were quite happy.

"However, with their pay packets, all that started to change. They have status and growing affluence; they have a lifestyle to maintain and want to live within easy reach of trendy bars and other leisure pursuits, as well as work."

He added: "Young people are very aware of fashion in the broadest sense. It includes knowing the right places to live in order to socialise with similar young professionals - the more central the better - and living in the right sort of property, which must be modern or well modernised, well designed and properly kitted out."