London and Manchester most attractive buy-to-let cities

London and Manchester have been named by landlords as the most attractive buy-to-let cities in 2020, figures released by insurance provider Simply Business have revealed.

Some 36% of landlords either voted for London or Manchester as the top places to invest.

This is somewhat surprising, seeing as London house prices fell by 1.8% in 2019.

In Manchester the buy-to-let market is supported by the city’s strong student population and burgeoning media scene.

Bea Montoya, chief operating officer at Simply Business, said:

“Buy-to-let landlords are crucial to the UK economy, contributing a combined £16.1bn through pre-tax spending.

“The sector also now houses 20% of British households and has a huge presence up and down the country, so it’s wholly encouraging that landlords view a broad spread of regions as attractive areas to invest this year.

“London usually comes out on top for being the most expensive city to invest in property in the UK but falling house prices are making it an attractive place to invest once again.

“We know a quarter of landlords are planning to sell at least one property this year, largely due to government reform and tax changes, so it’s reassuring to see that landlords are still eying up investment opportunities up and down the country.”

The next most popular regions were Liverpool and Birmingham.

Behind them was Edinburgh, followed by Bristol, Leeds, Oxford, Glasgow, Cardiff, Southampton and Sheffield.

Kindly shared by Property Wire