Best cities for buy-to-let investments revealed

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Best cities for buy-to-let investments revealed

Despite the recent tax and regulatory changes, buy-to-let continues to look an attractive income investment at a time of low-interest rates and volatile stock markets, but which city ranks best for buy-to-let investment?

Aldermore’s new Buy-to-Let City Tracker, which analyses 25 cities across the UK to understand the best places for landlords to invest in, has found that Oxford narrowly ranks number one, ahead of Manchester.

The Buy-to-Let City Tracker comprises of five core indicators: average rent per room per month, short-term yield for a new buy-to-let purchase, average property price rise over the last 10 years, the proportion of vacant properties in the city and size of the private rental market.

The index uses a series of secondary data sources including the ONS, Census and other official housing statistics.

Oxford, which scored well on four out of five metrics, has one of the largest private sector markets of all 25 cities, with 28% of all residents in the city renting privately.

Oxford also offers above average rental ability, at an average of £596 per room per month, a low level of vacant properties, and security in investment with property prices having increased yearly by on average 4.8% the past decade.

The only sore spot is that short-term return through yield is one of the lowest on the list.

Seven of the top ten cities for landlords are in southern England. Both Bristol and Oxford fare particularly well for long term returns, with an average 4.8% increase in property prices. Brighton scores well for rent, yielding an average of £507 per room. The city also has one of the largest market sizes across the UK, with a staggering 28% of inhabitants privately renting.

Damian Thompson, director of mortgages at Aldermore, said: “Aldermore’s Buy to Let City Tracker shows there are still great short and long-term investment opportunities for landlords.

“The number of people renting in the UK has been rapidly growing, up 1.7 million in ten years, so private landlords are an increasingly central part of the housing market as supporting a robust and strong Private Rented Sector becomes more essential.

“The UK housing market has never been a singular thing, instead made up of multiple smaller markets with their own unique conditions and challenges. There have been numerous regulatory changes recently and persistent economic uncertainty but this affects every region differently.

“Going forward, landlords will need continual backing and advice from lenders and the wider industry so they can provide choice, diversity of tenure and quality properties for renters.”

Aldermore’s Buy to Let City Tracker rankings table:

Ranking

City

Region

Overall score

1

Oxford

South East

74

2

Manchester

North West

72

3

Edinburgh

Scotland

72

4

London

London

71

5

Norwich

Eastern

66

6

Bristol

South West

64

7

Nottingham

East Midlands

63

8

Cambridge

Eastern

63

9

Brighton

South East

60

10

Milton Keynes

South East

55

11

Plymouth

South West

54

12

Hull

Yorkshire

49

13

Leicester

East Midlands

49

14

Coventry

West Midlands

49

15

Southampton

South East

48

16

Birmingham

West Midlands

47

17

Liverpool

North West

44

18

Cardiff

Wales

39

19

Glasgow

Scotland

37

20

Leeds

Yorkshire

32

21

Derby

East Midlands

31

22

Sheffield

Yorkshire

30

23

Bradford

Yorkshire

29

24

Newcastle

North East

26

25

Wolverhampton

West Midlands

25


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