THE trendy N1 area of Islington is in the top five most sought after postcodes in London, according to a website for flathunters - but up-and-coming N4 is hot on its heels.

New figures from Spareroom.co.uk show that N1 has crept up from 9th in 2010 to 5th in 2011 in a league table based on online viewings of room advertisements.

Finsbury Park’s N4 postcode was the only other Islington one to appear in the table, coming in at number 15 on its first appearance.

Matt Hutchinson, director of Spareroom.co.uk, said: “The N1 postcode has always been a popular one for flatshare, which is hardly surprising. It’s close to the centre of London and has a huge range of options when it comes to nightlife, including some great pubs. We’ve seen its popularity increase in the last couple of years, which led us to launch one of our popular Speed Flatmating events once a fortnight at Chapel Bar, in Penton Street, Islington.

“Finsbury Park is unsurprisingly on the up. It may not have quite the same cool factor as N1 but is a transport hub so is perfect for getting in and around London. With average prices for a double room standing at �105 per week - compared with �149 in N1 - it also represents great value for money.”

The Spareroom table counts enquiries from potential lodgers looking to rent single rooms, but estate agents say N1 and N4 are also favourites with people looking to rent whole flats.

Gemma Ahad, lettings associate at Chesterton Humberts, in Upper Street, Islington, said: “We’ve got over 20 offices across London and we are probably the busiest.

“People like N1 because it’s close to the City and the West End, buts it’s also vibrant, multicultural and has something for everyone.

“Parts of it are very family orientated, but there is also Upper Street, Hoxton and Shoreditch for trendy singletons. Places like Kensington and Chelsea might be nice but a lot of people cant afford to live there.

She added: “We’ve had a lot more enquiries about Finsbury Park recently as people realise there’s not much about at the moment and rental prices have shot up.

“The Highbury end of Finsbury Park is getting more and more popular with all the new developments being built, and believe it or not a lot of people are attracted by having the Arsenal stadium nearby.”

For landlords looking to rent, there is also an easy way to background check potential tenants by going onto the 192.com website.

Dominic Blackburn, product director of 192.com said: “Take personal responsibility for background checking who you’re going to share your home with by using 192.com to confirm people’s employment, marital status, and age. You can also use 192.com to trace a previous landlord to get a reference.”

Spareroom Top five 2011

1 E14 (Whitechapel)

2 E1 (Canary Wharf)

3 SW19 (Wimbledon)

4 CR0 (Croydon)

5 N1 (Islington)