A survey by landbay noted that 42% of buy-to-let landlords intend to grow their portfolio in 2023. There’s loads of factors to look at when buying or investing in property in 2023. Property prices and rental yields are high on the list, but tenant demand, career opportunities, transport etc are all factors that come into play too.
Overall, according to Zooplas’ March report, rental demand has grown 51%, with rent inflation annually at 11.1% for new lets.
So, where should investors focus if they want rental income?
| City | Average property price | Average monthly rent | Average yield |
| Newcastle | £195,638 | £1,127 | 7.70% |
| Leeds | £241,113 | £1,700 | 7.20% |
| Liverpool | £184,642 | £1,153 | 7.02% |
| Birmingham | £233,131 | £1,621 | 6.56% |
| Nottingham | £190,485 | £1,271 | 6.49% |
| Manchester | £238,253 | £1,611 | 5.71% |
| Stats from home.co.uk | Stats from SevenCapital.com |
The North West produces the best profits because the average house price is lower. In areas like London, where the average property price is higher, the rental yield is lower.
Newcastle
7.70% average rental yield
Newcastle has one of the highest populations in the North East and is one of the most affordable cities in the UK. According to house price indexing, Newcastle’s average property price is 33.6% lower than the UK average.
Newcastle is a university town with a fast-growing start-up sector, this may boost demand from young professionals and increase rental prices, and in turn, yields.
Leeds
7.20 average rental yield
Leeds is recognised as a major city for investors, a northern powerhouse with one of the fastest-growing economies in the country. Leeds has excellent rental demand, with an increase on average rental income up 11.4% in Q4 of 2020.
Liverpool
7.02% average rental yield
Like Newcastle, Liverpool remains affordable, with Land registry data reporting prices are around 37% lower than the national average. Due to a high population of students and young people, Liverpool boasts some of the best performing rental yield areas in the country.
It is predicted that in the next 4 years, Liverpool will benefit from similar growth to Manchester.
Birmingham
6.56% average rental yield
The Big City Plan is a 20-year city-wide transformation project is past its halfway point, having made enormous improvements to the city and public transport. Birmingham is one of the top places to invest due to affordability.
The city also has rapidly growing tech and financial sectors, making it a popular location for skilled workers wanting to move away from London.
Nottingham
6.49% average rental yield
Nottingham was voted one of the top places to live in 2020, as a result of this, it experienced the greatest price increases in the country between 2021-2022.
Much like the other university cities on this list, Nottingham’s huge student population along with a massive creative population, result in high tenant demand.
Manchester
5.71% average rental yield
Manchester is a really exciting place for property investment, it continues to grow yearly and rental earnings have increased by 19.5% since 2021, with property prices in the North West set to increase more than 17% over the past 4 years.
Manchester is a clear alternative to London, and with endless career opportunities as well as a massive population of young people aged 18-35 (38.7%), the rental market here is enormous.
It’s a good time to invest in property in the north!
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