Bristol has emerged as the most desirable city for landlords to invest in for 2024, according to Aldermore’s Buy to Let City Tracker.
The tracker ranks 50 UK cities based on five key factors that affect the attractiveness of buy to let properties.
The factors are average total rent, short-term yield, long-term house price growth, vacancy rate and rental population.
Bristol scored highly on all five indicators, with strong rental prospects, a large share of long-term private renters and a low number of empty properties.
The city also saw a 6.6% annual growth on returns, making it an appealing option for landlords looking for long-term gains.
‘Landlords have experienced an unprecedented year’
The head of mortgages at Aldermore, Jon Cooper, said: “Landlords have experienced an unprecedented year with rising interest rates, rising inflation, all while navigating their way through property legislation changes.
“Yet, the demand for rental accommodation has never been so high.”
He added: “Landlords play an important role in the UK economy, providing homes for those who are yet to get on the housing ladder or want to rent.
“Usually, a few regions dominate the leadership board, but this year we see for the first time a wider range of areas making it into the top 10.
“We can see that each region is made up of multiple smaller markets with their own unique conditions and challenges.”
He says that landlords should still do their investment research, work with brokers to review portfolios and ensure they are getting the best value for their properties.
Manchester slipped to second place
Manchester, which topped the list last year, slipped to second place, despite having a lower average rent per room (£461) and a lower vacancy rate (0.9%) than the national average (1.2%).
The city also offered attractive long-term returns (+6.1%) and a healthy market of tenants (31%).
Other southern cities, such as Brighton, London and Reading, also performed well, with higher average rents per room and strong demand from renters.
Glasgow, in eighth place, was the first Scottish city to enter the top 10 since the tracker was launched five years ago.
The city has good rental returns (£471 per room) and one of the highest short-term yields (8.6%).
Newport has the lowest rent return
Newport and Swansea remained at the bottom of the leaderboard, with Newport having the lowest rent return (£292 per room) compared to the average (£455).
Cardiff, however, climbed a few places to 40th, thanks to a good proportion of private renters (25%) and a low number of vacant properties (1.0%).
The tracker also revealed that the average rent per room had increased steadily, from £423 in 2021 to £432 in 2022 and £455 in 2024.
Aldermore’s research found that 94% of landlords had raised their rents in the last 12 months.
The tracker also shows that 73% of landlords had seen an increase in tenant demand for their properties in the last year.
