To receive better returns from your investment - go north!

Are you looking for better returns on your rental investment property? As I wrote in this blog in December, the UK's 2.5 million private landlords are coming under the cosh from a seemingly never ending host of extra taxes and new regulations. This is a trend that shows no sign of letting up in 2019. So getting good yields on their rental property is becoming ever-more important for buy-to-let investors who are having to think on their feet. And many are now heading north for better returns.

Property firm Your Move reported this month that the North East and North West are particularly attractive markets now because a combination of low house prices and large student populations in many areas mean good yields and fewer void periods for landlords. According to their rental tracker, the average investor in the North East enjoyed a rental return of 5% in the year to November 2018 while in the North West, returns were only slightly lower at 4.8%.

Landlords are looking north for better returns, with landlords keen to buy and good transport links and job prospects attracting more people to the region, both housing transactions and rental demand are going up - while interest in the London market gently slows down.Properties in the North appear to offer high percentage returns to property investors and, as a result, they are attracting interest even more, Martyn Alderton, national lettings director at Your Move said. However, with massive interest now being shown in cities like Manchester and Liverpool from large-scale build-to-rent (BTR) operators, BTL landlords can't afford to rest on their laurels.

In Manchester the city centre has seen an 8% increase in supply, leading to those inevitable questions about the possibility of the market overheating. Ringley now has a strong presence in the Manchester market, working with landlords, developers and investors in the city thanks to our 2018 joint venture with local property manager and lettings agent JP Hay. We are now managing both BTR property and more traditional BTL rentals in the north of England, so our advice to BTL landlords is to ensure that your rental property is well-maintained, well-equipped and exactly matches the description that you or your agent is advertising .

There is certainly plenty of demand out there - but there is also a plentiful supply of new builds so competitition is fierce. But not everyone wants to live in a modern BTR apartment block so if your rental property is older, is a house rather than a modern flat, or is located in the suburbs, it still has as much chance of appealing to a tenant as a brand new purpose-designed city centre studio or duplex as long as it is well-presented and offered at the right price and you ensure that you fulfil your obligations as a responsible landlord. As Your Move rightly said last week, landlords who are prepared to invest in their property will undoubtedly benefit from higher yields and better occupancy rates.