Best And Worst UK Property Investment Hotspots
Rental returns on buy to let properties are best in cities like Southampton, Manchester and Nottingham, where as many as one in four properties are owned by landlords in the private rented sector.
Portfolio landlords and property investors are looking beyond London to identify regions where rental yields […]

UK Cities With Best and Worst Property Investment Yields
Best And Worst UK Property Investment Hotspots
Rental returns on buy to let properties are best in cities like Southampton, Manchester and Nottingham, where as many as one in four properties are owned by landlords in the private rented sector.
Portfolio landlords and property investors are looking beyond London to identify regions where rental yields are almost three times as high as in the capital.
Rental yield is calculated by measuring the rental income against the properties cost
The latest data on buy-to-let yields provided by the HSBC bank, also shows the proportion of properties in each area that are already owned by landlords, with landlords already owning more than one in four properties in many of the top-yielding areas.
HSBC’s report draws on official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Land Registry with rental data provided by Home.co.uk.

Top Property Investment Hotspots Revealed
- Southampton, currently tops the list for rental returns with rental yields of 8.73% Manchester has rental yields of around 7.98%
- Nottingham has rental yields of around 7.67%
- Blackpool has rental yields of around 7.63%
- Hull has rental yields of around 7.47%
In all of these areas, except Hull, private rental sector (PRS) landlords already own more than one in five properties.
These areas offer relatively low property prices and have strong demand for rental property from large student and young professional populations – the characteristics that the experts say make for excellent buy-to-let investments.
Top 10 Property Investment Hot Spots By Rental Yields
Rank |
Location |
Housing privately rented (%) |
Average house price |
Average monthly rent |
Gross rental yield (%) |
1 | Southampton | 23.42 | £143,011 | £1,040 | 8.73 |
2 | Manchester | 26.85 | £104,244 | £693 | 7.98 |
3 | Nottingham | 21.64 | £86,000 | £550 | 7.67 |
4 | Blackpool | 24.16 | £77,899 | £495 | 7.63 |
5 | Kingston upon Hull | 19.02 | £68,243 | £425 | 7.47 |
6 | Coventry | 19.02 | £110,029 | £650 | 7.09 |
7 | Oxford | 26.11 | £254,514 | £1,489 | 7.02 |
8 | Portsmouth | 22.28 | £146,709 | £795 | 6.50 |
9 | Liverpool | 21.75 | £91,175 | £494 | 6.50 |
10 | Cambridge | 23.91 | £185,414 | £1,001 | 6.48 |
The lowest rental yields were registered in areas such as London where recent property price rises have outpaced the growth in rental yields and in some areas like Westminster 38% of property is privately rented.
Worst 10 Property Investment Areas By Rental Yield
Location |
Housing privately rented (%) |
Average house price |
|
Gross rental yield (%) |
Kensington and Chelsea | 33.97 | £1,236,605 | £2,968 | 2.88 |
Thanet | 21.96 | £189,362 | £524 | 3.32 |
Hastings | 27.19 | £184,787 | £520 | 3.38 |
Haringey | 30.33 | £425,541 | £1,200 | 3.38 |
Westminster | 37.56 | £890,272 | £2,578 | 3.47 |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 30.05 | £685,797 | £2,004 | 3.51 |
Richmond upon Thames | 20.55 | £540,379 | £1,699 | 3.77 |
Camden | 30.46 | £715,831 | £2,383 | 3.99 |
Ipswich | 18.75 | £158,925 | £546 | 4.12 |
Lincoln | 19.36 | £124,789 | £433 | 4.16 |
Head Of Mortgages at HSBC Peter Dockar, said: “House prices in the top-yielding locations – while still out of reach among many first time buyers – are relatively affordable for landlords investing in property and the demand from young professionals has pushed up rents and driven up the returns. London is often seen as the haven of property investment with many believing the streets are paved with gold. However, while the highest rents in the country are an attractive draw for landlords, high house prices in the capital squeeze yields and limit the returns available. As a result, returns can often be far more attractive in other areas so it certainly pays for landlords to do their research.”
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) Rates Change In April
Every year the Government publish Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates that are periodically reviewed and payment levels in some UK regions may change without notice.
The April 2014 – March 2015 LHA rates have now been published and the revised list makes interesting reading for landlords and […]
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) Rates Change In April
Every year the Government publish Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates that are periodically reviewed and payment levels in some UK regions may change without notice.
The April 2014 – March 2015 LHA rates have now been published and the revised list makes interesting reading for landlords and letting agents who are willing to accept tenants claiming benefits.
UK private rental sector landlords are able to ensure rental property profits by allowing their properties to be let to tenants claiming housing benefit (HB), with local authority rental payments exceeding buy-to-let mortgage payments.
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New research by LloydsTSB group has revealed over 200 roads in the UK with properties valued over £1 Million (GBP)
High value properties can be found in almost every region in England and locally they are most often known as Millionaire’s rows.
However, despite the UK still in the process of recovering from a double […]
New research by LloydsTSB group has revealed over 200 roads in the UK with properties valued over £1 Million (GBP)
High value properties can be found in almost every region in England and locally they are most often known as Millionaire’s rows.
However, despite the UK still in the process of recovering from a double dip recession, there are over 200 roads in Britain where properties command £1 Million+ (GBP) asking prices.
The country’s most expensive streets are within the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Egerton Crescent in
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While London may prove to have the most expensive streets in the UK within Kensington and Chelsea , MyPropertyPowerTeam.com lists the other expensive streets Lloyds TSB identified across England and Wales by region.
Property investors should be on the lookout for properties available in these top locations. Remembering the old adage of “buying the worst properties […]
While London may prove to have the most expensive streets in the UK within Kensington and Chelsea , MyPropertyPowerTeam.com lists the other expensive streets Lloyds TSB identified across England and Wales by region.
Property investors should be on the lookout for properties available in these top locations. Remembering the old adage of “buying the worst properties in the best streets” in order to maximise capital appreciation.
- East Anglia
The most expensive streets in East Anglia are concentrated in Cambridge.
All are close to the main University area (particularly around the Botanic Gardens) in the CB2 and CB3 postal districts.
The most expensive street is Sedley Taylor Road with an average house price of £ 1,111,000.
- East Midlands
Valley Road in the Nottingham suburb of West Bridgford is the most expensive street in the East Midlands with an average price of £823,000. Unlike in other regions, the most expensive streets in the East Midlands are spread around the region in towns such as Northampton (Golf Lane, £795,000), Leicester (Swithland Lane, £675,000) and Belper (Hazelwood Road, £790,000).
- North
Seven of the ten most expensive streets in the North are in Newcastle, with many of them in the Jesmond and Gosforth areas.
Graham Park Road is the most expensive with an average price of £1,228,000 followed by Oakfield Road (£896,000) and Darras Road (£750,000).
- North West
The ten most expensive streets in the North West are all in areas south of Manchester.
Withinlee Road in Prestbury is followed by Macclesfield Road in Alderley Edge (£1,320,000) and Torkington Road (£1,285,000) in Wilmslow.
- South East
Five of the ten most expensive streets in the South East are in Surrey. Properties on Leys Road in Leatherhead have an average price of £3,108,000 (highest outside London).
Other expensive streets in the region include Moles Hill in Leatherhead (£2,608,000), Nuns Walk in Virginia Water (£2,574,000) and both Phillippines Shaw (£2,352,000) and Wildernesse Avenue (£2,293,000) in Sevenoaks.
- South West
Poole has six of the ten most expensive streets in the South West.
Brundenell Avenue in Sandbanks in Dorset has an average house price of £2,024,000 and is the most expensive street outside of London and the South East.
Sandbanks is well known for commanding premium property prices, with Chaddesley Glen (£1,443,000), Crichel Mount Road (£1,415,000), Elms Avenue (£1,366,000) and Bingham Avenue (£1,310,000) all having an average price above £1 Million (GBP).
- West Midlands
Four of the ten most expensive streets in the West Midlands are in Solihull. The most expensive streets are Quarry Park Road in Solihull (£1,070,000), Rosemary Hill Road in Sutton Coldfield (£990,000) and Alderbrook Road in Solihull (£939,000).
- Yorkshire and the Humber
The most expensive streets in Yorkshire and the Humber are all located in the area that makes up the “Golden Triangle” between Harrogate, Wetherby and North Leeds.
The region’s most expensive street is Bracken Park in Scarcroft in Leeds with an average price of £934,000, followed by Wigton Lane in Leeds (£840,000) and Orchard Close in York (£800,000).
- Wales
The most expensive street in Wales is Druidstone Road in Cardiff with an average house price of £685,000.
Eight of the ten most expensive streets in the Principality are in Cardiff and Swansea; the remaining two are Gannock Road in Conwy (£677,000) and Glasllwch Lane in Gwent (£485,000).
New research from Shelter highlights the areas of England where people are most at risk of losing their homes.
The charity claims that one in every 111 households is at risk of eviction by either a landlord or mortgage lender, with those living in London most at risk, followed by the residents of Manchester, Slough […]
New research from Shelter highlights the areas of England where people are most at risk of losing their homes.
The charity claims that one in every 111 households is at risk of eviction by either a landlord or mortgage lender, with those living in London most at risk, followed by the residents of Manchester, Slough and Peterborough.
Shelter’s study also reveals clusters of high risk in the North West and the Midlands: Nottingham, Newcastle and Knowsley all have eviction risk rates more than one and a half times the national average.
While urban areas are more likely to have higher rates of eviction risk, rural areas such as West Lancashire and Bedford are also affected, with levels higher than the national average.
Shelter’s chief executive, Campbell Robb, comments: “Shelter research shows that a third of people are already struggling with their housing costs or falling behind on payments. In these unforgiving conditions, it only takes one thing – illness, job loss or relationship breakdown – to lead to things spiralling out of control and into homelessness.”
Last week saw the worst rioting in the UK since the 1980’s.
Whilst the unrest caused by the shooting of a man in the London borough of Tottenham sparked a civil disturbance that quickly spread to other parts of the nations capital, others saw an opportunity to jump on the band wagon sparking violent scenes […]
Whilst the unrest caused by the shooting of a man in the London borough of Tottenham sparked a civil disturbance that quickly spread to other parts of the nations capital, others saw an opportunity to jump on the band wagon sparking violent scenes as hundreds of youths went on the rampage through the streets of other major British cities including Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Nottingham, Bristol, Wolverhampton and Birmingham where 3 men were callously run down while trying to protect their community.
Whilst the British public focus on the causality of the violence and the financial cost of the devastation that has tainted our cities, the rest of the world looks on as we clean up the smashed glass, burnt out cars and buildings, watching how severley we deal with those people that decided to ignore the law and attempt to devastate our communities.
With over 2000 arrests across the country the police and British legal system are fast tracking justice in an attempt to provide a swift punishment for those involved. The cost to repair the damage is expected to run into Billions of pounds (GBP)
Businesses with damaged or looted sites are able to claim back losses through insurance policies, resulting in increased premiums for everyone in years to come. However, it is not the same story for many homeowners and landlords with Buy-To-Let property in the affected locations.
Hidden in the small print of some UK domestic insurance policies and some landlord Buy-To-Let buildings insurance policies is a “get out” clause for liability.
Under what IS NOT covered, the phrase “ …riot, civil disturbance, violent disorder, strike or malicious acts”, will mean some UK home owners and landlords having to foot the bill for the repairs to property themselves.
Whilst the UK Government state they will back those affected by the trouble, it will do little in the short term for those who have lost everything.
£30 Million (GBP) of Government money will go to help those in need. £20 Million of this will be in the form of a high street support scheme, with the remaining £10 Million to be used as a recovery fund to help clean up the streets and damaged buildings across the country.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has launched a £50 Million (GBP) fund to make major improvements to the capital’s town centres and high streets damaged by the recent riots across the capital.
Mr Johnson said “We have always recognised the importance of improving London’s town centres and clearly after the destruction caused by the recent events across the city this is a bigger challenge than ever. That is why I am allocating £50 million to ensure that these areas are regenerated quickly and transformed into safe, attractive, vibrant and economically successful places to live, work and invest in”.
The riots could also have an indirect effect on the future UK economy, particularly as foreign companies or overseas developers may be reluctant to invest in London or other UK cities and may choose to take their construction projects elsewhere, in the fear of being vandalised by out-of-control youths.
It is only through excellent community spirit and co-operation that Britain is getting its house back in order.
If you own property in any of the affected areas and were fortunate to escape any major damage from the atrocities on our streets it may be advisable for insurance policy holders to check the specific wording of their insurance policies.
Domestic and Buy-To-Let insurance providers can be found here