Every year, Barclays reveal their buy to let hotspots, showing those areas with the highest rents and the highest demand for rental property. This annual list is based on rental prices and more specifically – rental price increases since the previous year. If you are in one of these areas, your property can earn the most for you, making investment in student property especially lucrative in areas with a significant university population. Here are the top five.
London
Unsurprisingly, London tops the poll once again. A combination of the “capital factor”, high population, high employment and high demand has kept London the top of the list of buy to let hotspots for 2015. With multiple universities and a population of over of 8.5m people, it is a wise investment to purchase student property here but be warned of high property prices.
Birmingham
Leaping five places from 7th last year, Birmingham is the second on the list of buy to let hotspots for 2015 and the city with the second highest population in the UK. This increase could be down to people purchasing property with the hope that the HS2 link will prove shrewd investment over the next few years. As a city with two universities, one of which being a Russell Group institution, it could be a good investment to purchase property in Birmingham now prices still rise.
Bristol
The country’s most liveable city and most affluent city is home to two universities – one of them being part of The Russell Group. Bristol has more money per capita than any other city in the UK, which makes it a sound investment to buy property here. It kept its third ranking from 2014. Part of its persistent feature in the top five is considered to be because of the prestige of the university.
Nottingham
It should not be any great surprise that all cities in this top five list of the buy to let hotspots for 2015 has a Russell Group University. The organisation by its prestige attracts investment and employment opportunities as well as enjoying the wealth of a student based economy – the money brought in domestically and from overseas. Nottingham rose from 17th to 4th spot between 2014 and 2015.
Manchester
The final city in the top five list of buy to let hotspots for 2015 is Manchester, also home to a prestigious university. Like Nottingham, it too experienced a big rise – this time from 18th to 5th place. Like Birmingham, part of this rise could be down to proposed HS2 plans that property speculators are buying up property with the expectation of a rise in employment, wages and standard of living.
Special Note About Plymouth
Plymouth experienced the largest jump from 212th to 16th place, thanks to investment from central government. It is home to a popular university that has expanded into Cornwall along with University Exeter in recent years. More money for the regions could make now a prime time to invest in property in cities expected to reap the rewards of such rejuvenation.