With the general consensus being that northern regions are the places to be when wanting to make the highest profit from rental properties, it seems that this north-south divide remains. Bootle in Merseyside being named the best place to currently be a buy-to-let landlord, based on a number of key metrics.
Research from Gatehouse Bank identified the ten best places to be a landlord, in addition to the ten places where landlords are most vulnerable in today’s property market.
When pace of market and affordability are factored in, the study identified that the north-south divide was still very much present, with Bootle deemed to be the home of the most reliable tenants. Following suit was Inverness, Stoke-on-Trent and St Helens.
In the meantime, the north and Midlands dominated the listings of the places where landlords are least vulnerable.
Top Ten Places Landlords are Least Vulnerable
| Rank | City/ town | Average property price | Average time on the market (days) | Annual yield (%) | Rent as a % of earnings |
| 1 | Bootle, Merseyside | £100,527 | 183 | 5.6 | 22.3 |
| 2 | Inverness | £184,849 | 124 | 4.8 | 30.9 |
| 3 | Stoke-on-Trent | £145,904 | 147 | 4.2 | 22.6 |
| 4 | Barnsley | £136,497 | 168 | 4.3 | 22.3 |
| 5 | St Helens | £133,460 | 178 | 4.3 | 21.6 |
| 6 | Telford | £167,408 | 131 | 4.0 | 25.2 |
| 7 | Dundee | £154,714 | 169 | 4.3 | 23.3 |
| 8 | Oldham | £146,511 | 173 | 4.5 | 24.5 |
| 9 | Southport | £195,796 | 115 | 4.2 | 30.9 |
| 10 | Bolton | £154,710 | 173 | 4.7 | 27.3 |
Top Ten Places Landlords are Most Vulnerable
| Rank | City/ town | Average property price | Average time on the market (days) | Annual yield (%) | Rent as a % of earnings |
| 1 | Winchester | £549,706 | 248 | 3.1 | 56.2 |
| 2 | Cambridge | £446,938 | 251 | 2.9 | 45.6 |
| 3 | Chichester | £413,343 | 269 | 3.3 | 45.8 |
| 4 | Warwick | £353,197 | 254 | 3.0 | 40.0 |
| 5 | Reading | £415,192 | 230 | 3.4 | 46.7 |
| 6 | Woking | £515,941 | 229 | 3.6 | 61.3 |
| 7 | Watford | £419,815 | 207 | 3.2 | 47.3 |
| 8 | Chelmsford | £375,346 | 224 | 3.2 | 42.8 |
| 9 | Oxford | £510,110 | 261 | 4.2 | 70.8 |
| 10 | Guildford | £571,279 | 202 | 3.6 | 69.4 |
Of the UK cities, Manchester came 34th, Birmingham, 75th and Glasgow 43rd. London, where property prices notoriously hinder yields and deter landlords, ranked 89th.
Overall, the study found properties available to rent across the UK have been sitting on the market for 197 days on average. Meanwhile, the typical yield is 4.6% and the average proportion of earnings to rent is 37%.
Charles Haresnape, the CEO at Gatehouse Bank, commented: “What our research shows is that famous northern hospitality is not a myth. It’s a great place not only to be a landlord, but also to live, with cities in the north and the Midlands performing much better across all indicators.
“Rental properties are let far quicker than in the south, which is no surprise when major cities like Liverpool and Manchester are within commuting distance of smaller towns like Bootle.”
He adds: “What’s really striking is that, in the areas that performed best, rental rates were far more affordable, and this correlation underscores the symbiotic relationship between renters and landlords in areas where their investments could be deemed safest.”