UK Regional Property Hotspots Outperforming London

Offering a lower entry level, higher rental returns, and stronger capital growth prospects than London, Luke Fitzsimmons from Experience Invest explains how regional UK cities are the next property hotspots

For many years, London was known as the jewel in the UK’s property investment crown, with investors buying property they could rent out to achieve stable rental returns and strong capital growth potential.

At the start of the global economic crisis ten years ago, house values in London stood strong, proving to investors all across world that the UK Capital could outperform virtually all other property markets.

But while London has enjoyed hefty investment in the early boom years, as the property market has matured, house prices and rents appear to have reached their peak. In fact, the latest report from YourMove indicates that some areas in London have seen prices drop by up to 15% over the last 12 months.

This, coupled with the lack of house price growth forecast in London over the next few years, has meant that investors have had to look elsewhere for their investment returns.

London’s loss has been the regions’ gain, with Northern Powerhouse cities such as Liverpool emerging as a favoured location for investment.

According to The New Housing Paradigm by JLL, average house price growth across the UK will settle at 2.5% per annum for the next five years however, regional cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds will outperform the rest of the country with uplifts between 3% to 4% per year.

City living has gained momentum in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds over the past three years and, together with an active student market, this has pushed demand in both the sales and lettings markets higher. And with housing supply in these city centres severely constrained, prices and rents have soared.

Regional properties have allowed buyers to enter the UK’s property market at a lower entry level, and secure stronger returns than comparable properties on the London market.

With house prices expected to rise by 16.5% between 2018 and 2021 and rents set to grow by 14% over the same period (JLL), Liverpool has emerged as one of the best performing locations for buy-to-let investment.

For those looking for an opportunity in this prime market, apartments within Experience Invest’s Infinity Waters development are currently available with an impressive 20% early investor discount. This coupled with the anticipated 16.5% property price growth in the city, makes Infinity Waters an investment with strong capital growth potential.

With a favourable payment plan in place, apartments, this off-plan, fully managed property investment will also provide investors with an assured 7% NET per annum for three years.

Find out more about the growth of northern cities by going to visit http://www.experienceinvest.com/abode2/