Article Summary

New research from Zoopla has shown how the north west’s property market is continuing to boom, with Liverpool and Manchester having the highest house price increases in the country.

As well as firmly establishing the cities as market hotspots, the staggering growth demonstrates that Liverpool and Manchester are currently the best cities in the UK for investment property in regards to capital growth.

A fast-paced market

The Zoopla report shows that the property market is doing well across the UK. The end of the stamp duty holiday hasn’t slowed down demand, with the average time to sell a property in August at a record low. On average, listings in August were sold in just 27 days.

And with low levels of properties being listed and demand not slowing down, Zoopla expects this fast-paced market to continue until the end of the year.

This ever-growing demand has also boosted property prices across the country. Between the beginning of June and the end of August 2021, average house prices in the UK grew by 1.2%. And compared to August 2020, property prices in August 2021 increased by 6.5%.

North west dominates

The UK’s property market is performing positively overall, but it’s the north west that really comes out on top. The report shows how the hotspots for property investments are still Manchester and Liverpool, building on a long-established trend for UK investment properties that wasn’t affected by covid.

Liverpool was ranked number one for the biggest increase in house prices. In the year to September 2021 average house prices rose by a huge 9.8%. Manchester was not far behind in second place, with property values jumping by a massive 8.1% during the same period.

Excellent returns for investors

But despite these buoyant north western property markets, both cities boast average property prices far below the average UK investment property. In Liverpool, average house prices are just £137,600, while property investments in Manchester can be made for an average house price of £195,100.

For buy-to-let investors, this doesn’t only mean high levels of returns from capital growth, but excellent rental yields too. Tenant demand is also high in Liverpool and Manchester, which coupled with low property prices leads to some of the best rental returns on the country.

A positive end to the year

These good fortunes look set to continue into Q4 of 2021. Grianne Gilmore, head of research at Zoopla explained: “We expect the market to remain busy compared to historical norms, and for price growth to remain in firmly positive territory at the end of the year.

“Stock levels will start to rebuild in early 2022 as market activity returns to more normal levels.”

What is property investment?

Put simply, property investment is property purchased with the intention of generating financial returns for its buyer. These returns could be in the form of rental income through buy-to-let properties, house price growth through the future sale of the property or both. Property investments can be owned by individuals or organisations and can be short, long or medium term.

Get in touch

If you’re interested in buying an investment property in Leeds or investing in property anywhere else in the Leeds region and beyond, contact the experts at North Property Group to find out how.