Property investors have set their sights up north and towards the Midlands, looking for higher-yielding homes with lower buying costs, a property firm’s analysis suggests.
Nearly two-fifths 39% of all buy-to-lets snapped up across the UK within the first four months of 2025 were located either in the North of England or the Midlands, according to Hamptons’ statistics. This marks a considerable increase from the 24% recorded in 2007 and also up from 34% in the year prior, 2022.
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of London-based investors making purchases this year are estimated to have bought a buy-to-let in Britain situated outside the city, up from 24% in 2007.
Hamptons suggested that stamp duty costs and lower rental yields (the annual return made by a landlord on a property compared with the property price) have shifted landlords’ attention away from southern England.
On average, property investors in the North and Midlands regions were found to spend approximately £150,480 for a new buy-to-let purchase this year, which is significantly lower – by £141,760 – than what their southern counterparts doled out, averaging £292,240, according to Hamptons’ research team.
Hamptons went on to identify several areas as buy-to-let hotbeds over the preceding six months, including Redcar and Cleveland, Darlington, Derby, Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Middlesbrough, County Durham, East Staffordshire, Epping Forest (the only southern location on the list), and Leeds.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Buy-to-let investment is gradually grinding to a halt in some markets where higher purchase and mortgage costs take their toll.
“However, while new landlord purchases remain well below long-term averages, some investors have been looking further afield for new opportunities.
“One of the main ways landlords are trying to mitigate against higher stamp duty and mortgage costs is by seeking better-yielding and cheaper properties, increasingly in northern England.”
She added: “This may also have a knock-on impact on rents if supply conditions in the South of England worsen, and where tenants’ finances are already most stretched.
“However, investors will still find opportunities in the South of England, particularly if rents continue to rise and house prices pick up pace after nearly a decade of stronger capital growth further north.
“Lower interest rates will also help, not only by lowering mortgage costs, but by reducing rates available on savings accounts, which might make buy-to-let look more appealing.”
The Hamptons lettings index uses data from the Connells Group and is based on 57,000-plus homes let each year.
