Anyone looking for houses to rent in Prestwick may be aware that this South Ayrshire town is best known for three things. The first is that Prestwick Airport is located here. The second is its fame as a golfing centre. The third is the story that it is the only place in the UK that Elvis ever set foot in, on a refuelling stop on a flight between Germany and the US in 1960.

The Elvis connection may not attract people seeking rental properties, but Prestwick is a hub for people working in the aviation industry. It is also an ideal residential area for people working in Ayr, Kilmarnock and Glasgow.

Commuting to Edinburgh is possible from Ayr station, three miles south of Prestwick, though the train journey is a little over two hours. Trains to Glasgow, 30 miles to the north, take about 50 minutes on the Ayrshire Coast Line.

For frequent flyers, the proximity of the airport may be a good reason to look for rented accommodation in Prestwick. Prestwick Airport (or Glasgow Prestwick International Airport, to give it its full title) employs 3000 people and offers passenger flights to a variety of European destinations. Several airlines use Prestwick as a base.

Prestwick is divided into two areas by the High Street, with more expensive, upmarket properties in the western section, overlooking the waters of the Firth of Clyde. On a clear day, there is a romantic view of the Isle of Arran from Prestwick Bay’s long beach and esplanade.

If you are looking for a house to rent in Prestwick, it’s worth noting that the eastern districts of this small coastal town house most of its population of about 15,000. Accommodation here includes both housing managed by South Ayrshire Council and privately owned homes.

Here, as in other parts of Ayrshire and western Scotland, initiatives have been set up to build large numbers of affordable rental properties to keep up with growing local demand. As part of the regeneration of places and facilities in Ayrshire and the south-west, Prestwick Academy (one of four local schools) has been completely rebuilt, reopening in 2008.

One of Prestwick’s claims to fame is that it hosted the first Open Golf Championship in the nineteenth century. Although it has not hosted this landmark sporting event since 1925, this is prime golfing country, with famous golf courses in the vicinity, at Troon and Turnberry. Prestwick itself has three courses: Prestwick, St Nicholas and St Cuthberts.

The airport, golfing, the Burns connection and the pleasing scenery jointly attract many thousands of visitors annually. As well as accommodation for local workers and longstanding residents, online searches will reveal a host of appealing holiday cottages and houses to rent, in Prestwick itself, as well as in surrounding villages and rural beauty spots.

Online property searches are a useful tool for anyone seeking rental properties in the Prestwick area, with information easily gathered on matters such as council tax bands, average house prices for different areas of the town and local facilities.