The UK's top buy-to-let property hotspots unveiled...

Buy-to-let landlords can still expect to achieve double-digit yields when investing up north, fresh research shows.

A new survey by TotallyMoney provides both an interesting insight into the market and a useful tool for buy-to-let landlords, revealing that the north of England, and in particular Liverpool, currently offers the highest rental yields.

The research, which analysed more than 500,000 properties that were marketed for sale online in October 2017 across over 2,700 postcodes, once again reveals a clear geographical divide between the north and the south of the country with northern regions coming out on top and the South East in particular showing particularly poorly. This is illustrated by the fact that not one region in the South East features in the top 25 UK postcodes in terms of yields for investors.

Top 25 BTL Hotspots	Postcode	Postcode Town	Properties for Rent	Median Rental Value	Properties for Sale	Median Asking Price	Avg.Yield
1	L7	Liverpool	177	£1,224	79	£116,259	12.63%
2	L6	Liverpool	217	£959	133	£108,898	10.57%
3	L15	Liverpool	227	£1,214	241	£141,566	10.29%
4	PL4	Plymouth	334	1,315	271	£155,437	10.15%
5	TS1	Cleveland	146	£541	81	£64,507	10.06%
6	PR1	Preston	431	£1,027	586	£122,695	10.04%
7	DY5	Dudley	53	£1,145	96	£143,527	9.57%
8	NG1	Nottingham	79	£1,258	125	£169,521	8.91%
9	BD1	Bradford	226	£478	82	£64,903	8.84%
10	L1	Kirkcaldy	105	£892	368	£124,254	8.61%
11	L3	Liverpool	167	£1,035	716	£146,712	8.47%
12	NE6	North East	425	£826	229	£117,863	8.41%
13	HD1	Huddersfield	127	£724	151	£104,394	8.32%
14	M6	Manchester	130	£1,035	94	£150,550	8.25%
15	LS6	Leeds	1128	£1,482	43	£217,154	8.19%
16	S2	Sheffield	238	£702	122	£104,376	8.07%
17	NE1	North East	308	£1,152	115	£172,225	8.02%
18	L5	Liverpool	45	£574	145	£86,245	7.99%
19	M14	Manchester	279	£1,335	78	£200,852	7.98%
20	SR1	Sunderland	107	£539	32	£82,125	7.87%
21	L8	Liverpool	169	£841	168	£135,323	7.45%
22	CF37	Cardiff	128	£844	209	£136,267	7.43%
23	G3	Glasgow	37	£1,178	30	£192,032	7.36%
24	AB11	Aberdeen	198	£762	31	£125,125	7.30%
25	NE2	North East	555	£1,250	118	£205,479	7.30%

25 BTL Coldspots	Postcode	Town	Properties for Rent	Median Rental Value	Properties for Sale	Median Asking Price	Avg.Yield
1036	NW7	London	171	£1,948	309	£1,010,503	2.31%
1037	SW8	London	576	£2,685	1185	£1,403,592	2.29%
1038	N20	London	90	£2,442	185	£1,284,812	2.28%
1039	BN3	Brighton	167	£1,665	313	£876,105	2.28%
1040	N10	London	200	£1,747	222	£923,278	2.27%
1041	NW5	London	184	£2,088	179	£1,111,065	2.25%
1042	HD9	Huddersfield	35	£679	222	£364,310	2.23%
1043	SO41	Southampton	47	£1,286	350	£695,635	2.21%
1044	HP23	Hemel Hempstead	35	£1,092	138	£593,300	2.20%
1045	EN6	Enfield	75	£1,304	320	£710,537	2.20%
1046	SL8	Slough	35	£1,425	52	£778,236	2.19%
1047	KT20	Kingston upon Thames	32	£1,702	189	£967,397	2.11%
1048	HA6	Harrow	129	£1,736	190	£987,810	2.10%
1049	GL53	Gloucester	40	£877	55	£516,842	2.03%
1050	LS18	Leeds	42	£512	45	£302,086	2.03%
1051	BR7	Bromley	31	£1,414	132	£854,160	1.98%
1052	B15	Birmingham	83	£963	75	£587,683	1.96%
1053	NW11	London	498	£2,456	282	£1,523,534	1.93%
1054	EX8	Exeter	38	£717	139	£448,774	1.91%
1055	SL1	Slough	381	£1,071	499	£674,362	1.90%
1056	BH14	Bournemouth	81	£1,293	229	£831,035	1.86%
1057	N6	London	172	£2,899	197	£1,971,822	1.76%
1058	B70	Birmingham	52	£633	82	£450,639	1.68%
1059	N2	London	230	£3,702	186	£2,994,317	1.48%
1060	BH13	Bournemouth	72	£1,714	202	£1,456,539	1.41%

Joe Gardiner, head of brand and communications at TotallyMoney, said: “Realising a decent return on a buy-to-let rental property is becoming increasingly difficult. Property prices continue to rise steadily, albeit more slowly, and rule changes have made lenders more cautious.

“Prospective landlords need to go into property investment armed with the facts: they need to be on top of their credit report, compare the market for the best buy-to-let mortgage rates and focus on property investment in areas that can give them the highest yield.

“The buy-to-let hotspots postcode map pinpoints postcodes and gives landlords a solid steer towards the opportunities that university city student lets offer.”