The buy-to-let property market in Manchester continues to perform strongly as demand for rentals in the city remains high. Despite around 9,200 new homes becoming available since the start of 2020, the appetite for a rental property in the city shows no sign of abating. Manchester has become a fantastic destination city for may young professionals who want the opportunities that a city like this can provide. With good employment prospects, a much more affordable lifestyle than London, a huge amount to do and an array of great places to live, Manchester is one of the most attractive places to live. This is backed up by a poll conducted by Time Out last year that ranked Manchester as the 3rd best city in the world to live after San Francisco & Amsterdam. This all points to Manchester being a good choice to invest in a buy-to-let property.

Demand is high

Buy-to-let properties can be a great investment and getting the location right can be one of the biggest factors in making sure your investment sees a healthy yield. Demand in the buy-to-let property market in Manchester is particularly high for top quality properties with young professions keen to be in the city and also wanting more for their homes than ever. Choosing the right location for your property will mean thinking through various questions such as, what type of tenant do you want to target? Is it student, professional, budget or something more? How will you manage the property? Will it be you or a management agency? Are you willing to look at areas you may be unfamiliar with and do the research?

City tracker

Before you decide if you should invest in a buy-to-let property in Manchester, you should always do your research. Aldermore have created a buy-to-let city tracker that will help you look at areas you may be unfamiliar with. This tracker ranks cities across the country based on 5 key factors that will determine their success rate; average rent, best short term returns through yield, long term returns through house price growth over 10 years, lowest number of vacancies as a proportion of total stock and the percentage of a city’s population in the private rental market.

The latest figures show that Bristol comes out top for long term buy-to-let investment but the downside of this area is that the average price paid for a property in the area, according to Zoopla, was £365,317 over the past 12 months while the average price paid in Manchester was £235, 337, quite a significant factor when looking to purchase a buy-to-let. Oxford and Cambridge came in second and third on the index with average property price paid of £565,003 and £474,103 putting these out of reach for smaller investors. Manchester finished fourth on the list and we believe, with it’s large student population and growing young professional market, it offers the best value for money for those looking to become a buy-to-let owner or those looking to expand their portfolios.

Buying a buy-to-let property

There’s a lot to think about before deciding  if you should invest in a buy-to-let property in Manchester or anywhere else.. There are a lot of regulations that you must adhere to, the government provides advice on these on their website, you need to decide on type of property, type of tenant, area, property management and rent collection and how you will finance the project. It is always good to have some contingency finances in place to sort out any unforeseen problems as well as landlord insurance. You also have to make sure that the property you are buying is worth the money you being asked to pay for it, is it a good investment or will it quickly become a money pit?

Having a survey done by a RICS registered surveyor will give you peace of mind that there are no obvious defaults with the property. the survey can provide you with advice on things that may need your attention immediately as well as things you need to keep an eye on in the property. All surveys performed by Avery & Co are independent and we will provide you with an impartial overview of the property you are looking at. This can put you in a much stronger position to negotiate the asking price to take into account any repairs needed or faults found.

If you are thinking of purchasing a buy-to-let property in Manchester, or anywhere across the north west or north Wales, then please do get in touch, we would be happy to talk to you about your requirements. All of our surveyors are RICS registered and have good local knowledge of the area they are based in and are open, friendly and approachable. Fill in the form on our contact page or call us on 0330 088 5040, we’d be happy to help.