Sunderland scores top marks for student rental yields

Buy-to-let investors renting out student accommodation in Sunderland can expect to receive a 6.50% rental yield and can snap up the best property bargains with average properties priced around £90,000.

In a league of 20 postcode areas hosting universities, Manchester, with average properties priced at £135,000, took second place with a rental yield of 6.20% with Liverpool in third place offering landlords a yield of 5.50%.

Christian Faes, co-founder and chief executive of LendInvest, said: “Student towns are an excellent option for investors; there’s a steady stream of demand with each new academic year delivering prospective tenants. With A Level results out today and the year’s clearing for university places swinging into action, where’s best for student lets will be on the minds of many landlords.”

Both Manchester and Liverpool have vast student populations, dwarfing that of Sunderland. Manchester’s universities attract a student community of approximately 89,000 with Liverpool’s campus attracting a crowd of 65,000. Sunderland, in contrast, has a student population of 13,695.

Faes added: “Landlords need to look beyond simply how big the local student population is. For instance, there are many thousands of students attending universities in London, yet when it comes to rental yields there are far more profitable areas to invest in than the capital.”

Oxford and Cambridge, while being rated as the UK’s top universities, failed to rank in the top 20 university towns for rental yield. Oxford student properties return an average rental yield of 3.9% with Cambridge lagging slightly behind offering an average yield of 3.6%.