Manchester impresses in UK buy-to-let sector

Manchester has beaten London in the UK’s best location for buy-to-let properties.

The city achieved second spot in the latest league table, behind Oxford.

Third and fourth were Edinburgh and London, respectively, while Liverpool was placed 17th in the new buy-to-let city tracker published by challenger bank Aldermore which, earlier this year, expanded its office space in Manchester’s 40 Spring Gardens.

The tracker analysed 25 cities across the UK to understand the best places for landlords to invest in.

It was determined by analysing and assessing five key indicators that impact desirability, which were average total rent, the best short-term returns through yield, long-term return through house price growth over the past 10 years, the lowest number of vacancies as a proportion of total housing stock, and percentage of the city population in the rental market.

Damian Thompson, director of mortgages, 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 10 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.”

He added: “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.”

Richard Ignatowicz, director of Wilmslow-based e-mortgage consultants Mortgage Savers, said: “Manchester is currently regarded as one of the top BTL hotspots in the UK – it was primarily put on the investment radar due to the BBC moving to Media City in Salford Quays.

“This attracted a flood of Southern and international investors and resulted in Article 4 being imposed in November 20183.

“Having recognised the excellent returns, investors are now seeing other parts of Manchester experiencing a ripple effect, such as Ashton and Oldham, which are served by the Metro and within easy commuting distance to the city centre.”

He added: “HMO (houses of multiple occupation) conversions are especially popular and currently providing double digit returns.”