Regional cities set to attract increased investment from landlords

Research from Knight Frank’s Global Residential Cities Index, shows that Bristol, Manchester and Birmingham were all ranked higher than London in terms of house price growth.

The case for investing in Bristol was backed up by figures from the Homelet Rental Index that revealed April rents for new tenancies were up by 1.8% on the previous year.

In the North West April rents were up by 0.9% on the previous year and in the West Midlands they were up by 0.4%. This compares to the 1.2% annual fall in rents that the Homelet Rental Index recorded for London.

For landlords looking to maintain margins and increase the underlying value of their portfolios, Surrenden Invest said growth potential in regional cities would be of particular interest, at a time when many landlords were reassessing their portfolios and residential offerings in relation to the government’s removal of financial relief.

Jonathan Stephens, managing director at Surrenden Invest, said: “In Birmingham alone we have experienced an increasing level of interest, with approximately 15 buyers to every unit available. And this demand does not look set to falter anytime soon. Birmingham is benefiting from substantial investment in infrastructure and development and extensive job creation as many businesses move to the city.”

He added: “We would expect demand to continue on a positive trajectory, especially in prime, central locations in both Birmingham and Manchester.”