This year’s UK buy-to-let hotspots have been revealed, with several new towns and cities moving into the top ten.
Barclays Mortgage’s latest data reveals that England’s two primary cities lead the way for the number of buy-to-let homes brought this year, with Bristol holding on to third position.
Increases
With the buy-to-let market continuing to thrive, a number of regions have seen a substantial increase in activity over the last year. Birmingham for example, has risen from seventh to second position in the list. Popular University locations such as Nottingham, Manchester and Leeds have also continued to perform well.
The greatest rise in buy-to-let property purchases was recorded in Plymouth, which rose from 212th position in 2014 to 16th this year. Peterborough and Swindon also saw large rises in buy-to-let interest.
The top-twenty most popular regions for buy-to-let properties based on Barclays Mortgages report were:
| Rank (by volume of Barclays completed buy-to-let properties) Q1-Q2 | Town | Average rent (of Barclays Mortgages completed buy-to-let properties) Q1-Q2 2015 | |
| 2015 | 2014 | ||
| 1 | 1 | LONDON | £1,900 |
| 2 | 7 | BIRMINGHAM | £766 |
| 3 | 3 | BRISTOL | £877 |
| 4 | 17 | NOTTINGHAM | £639 |
| 5 | 18 | MANCHESTER | £693 |
| 6 | 13 | READING | £1,169 |
| 7 | 47 | LEEDS | £703 |
| 8 | 6 | SOUTHAMPTON | £1,067 |
| 9 | 50 | PETERBOROUGH | £649 |
| 10 | 19 | SLOUGH | £1,045 |
| 11 | 48 | GLASGOW | £601 |
| 12 | 5 | ILFORD | £1,252 |
| 13 | 4 | HARROW | £1,402 |
| 14 | 35 | EDINBURGH | £923 |
| 15 | 8 | CROYDON | £1,262 |
| 16 | 212 | PLYMOUTH | £808 |
| 17 | 12 | ENFIELD | £1,268 |
| 18 | 79 | SWINDON | £681 |
| 19 | 62 | LUTON | £754 |
| 20 | 28 | MILTON KEYNES | £873 |
Encouragement
Andy Gray, Barclays Managing Director of Mortgaging said, ‘it’s encouraging to see home owners are still feeling confident about the rental market and view buy-to-let as a valuable way to support their finances. Whilst London still leads all things buy-to-let, areas like Plymouth and Peterborough show there are some great value hot spots outside the capital city that are worth investment as the economy grows.’[1]
‘For those considering buy-to-let, we encourage you to speak to your mortgage advisor on what are the best options for your situation,’ Gray added.[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/where-are-the-latest-uk-buy-to-let-hotspots.html