Based on the rental yield you might expect, where is the best place in the UK to invest in buy to let property?
The latest research – published in Landlord Today on the 3rd of October – seems to be Glasgow, in Scotland. Here, the average rental yield on let property is currently an impressive 7.5%.
Indeed, Scottish towns also steal the next three top hotspots, with properties in Midlothian and East Ayrshire both showing returns of 6.8%, and West Dunbartonshire just behind on 6.7%.
The remaining six locations in the top ten hotspots include still further places in Scotland and are:
- Burnley – with yields averaging 6.5%;
- Belfast – also 6.5%;
- Inverclyde – 6.4%;
- Falkirk – 6.3%;
- The Western Isles 6.2%; and
- Clackmannanshire – 6.1%.
Knowing just where to look – and where to invest – is also critical when it comes to capital growth. The research suggests that house prices have grown fastest in the past year in North Devon, where you may expect to realise capital appreciation on your property of 15%.
The next three most significant areas for capital growth are all in Wales – with Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent both recording an annual increase of 13% and Caerphilly where prices have risen by some 11% in the past 12 months.
The best performing London borough in terms of capital appreciation is Camden, which saw property prices grow by an average of 10% over the year.
With mounting financial pressures on landlords, the figures help to show that it remains possible to make perfectly reasonable returns on a well-chosen buy to let business – especially while continuing low interest rates make other forms of investment relatively less attractive.