City shows strong growth in house and rental prices
Liverpool is being consistently overlooked as a buy-to-let investment hotspot, with healthy increases in both house and rental prices over the year and strong yields, according to Saif Derzi, founder of Landlord Resource.
He has highlighted the top ten buy-to-let hotspots and says Liverpool tops the table with an average house price of £189,036, around £63,000 cheaper than Manchester (£252,309) and up 8.1% in the past year, the strongest growth of any city analysed.
Rents meanwhile have grown 5.6%, generating a 5.8% gross yield.
He says a similar picture is evident over the last decade, with the city delivering 20.5% growth after inflation in the last ten years, ahead of Birmingham (4.3%), Derby (0.5%) and Coventry (1.4%), while Newcastle actually fell 6.2% in real terms.
“Liverpool could be one of the UK’s most overlooked property markets. Other northern powerhouses such as Manchester somewhat overshadow the Merseyside city as a hub for major employment and travel,” he said.
“However, the city will soon be opened up to new opportunities, and back in January, the government announced that new rail routes between Liverpool and Manchester will be developed in the 2030s thanks to multi-billion-pound investment. Smart investors will act now to make the most of this planned development.”
The UK’s Buy to Let Investment Hotspots
| City | Avg. house price | 1-Year House Price Increases | 1-Year Rental Price Increases | Gross yield |
| Liverpool | £189,036 | +8.1% | +5.6% | 5.80% |
| Manchester | £252,309 | +1.2% | +4.2% | 6.50% |
| Leeds | £247,695 | +3.8% | +4.2% | 5.50% |
| Sheffield | £219,713 | +2.8% | +4.3% | 5.10% |
| Preston | £188,629 | +7.3% | +5.9% | 5.00% |
| Wigan | £194,551 | +3.9% | +6.6% | 4.60% |
| Bradford | £182,766 | +2.5% | +2.4% | 4.90% |
| Bolton | £204,379 | +5.9% | +11.1% | 5.20% |
| Wolverhampton | £220,559 | +7.2% | +11.1% | 5.10% |
| Doncaster | £172,305 | +4.7% | +5.3% | 4.80% |
Source: Landlord Resource using July 2026 Land Registry prices and August 2026 rental figures from ONS
