11th
Mar 2022
Landlords are now turning attentions to buying properties away from major urban areas to smaller secondary cities and towns, according to a bank’s lending records.
The bank’s director of mortgages, says: “Landlord demand for city and town centre property was strong in 2021, with the bank’s analysis showing completions for house purchases increasing by 100% compared to the previous year.
He continues: “The strongest growth was not necessarily in the UK’s major cities. Aside from London and Manchester, the top 10 growth locations were in secondary cities or large towns. The likes of Milton Keynes, Luton, Bristol, Northampton and Nottingham experienced strong double or triple-digit growth in completions during the year.”
During 2021 the cities and towns that had the largest increases in completions were Milton Keynes with a 667 per cent boost from 2020, Bristol saw a 300 per cent increase as well along with Manchester and Luton with 258 per cent rise.
Other areas that featured in the top ten include, Plymouth - 183 per cent, Stoke -157 per cent Northampton - 133 per cent, Cardiff - 70 per cent and Nottingham - 64 per cent..
The director adds: “There appears to be one of, or a combination of, three factors that each of these locations share. They are in commutable distance to a major city, they mostly have vibrant universities, and they have healthy local economies.”
However the capital still had an increase in 2021 of BTL completions with a 95 per cent rise from the previous year, with BTL investors preferring to buy properties in Zones 2 and 3 when considering tenant demand, availability of properties and projected yield.
The lender said landlords have changed their focus to tenant’s shift in demand to retain urban living but are moving to smaller secondary cities and towns.
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