Southend, Luton and Bristol ranked the best cities for long-term property returns
Aldermore’s Buy-to-Let City Tracker has named Southend, Luton, Bristol, Nottingham and Manchester as the best cities offering long term returns in house price growth during the last decade.
Aldermore’s Buy-to-Let City Tracker top 10 cities for returns:
| Ranking | 2022 ranking | +/-change | Avg. annual change in house price over last decade | 2021 ranking |
| 1 | Southend | +2 | +5.9% | Luton |
| 2 | Luton | -1 | +5.9% | Bristol |
| 3 | Bristol | -1 | +5.7% | Southend |
| 4 | Nottingham | +12 | +5.6% | Oxford |
| 5 | Manchester | +10 | +5.6% | Cambridge |
| 6 | Leicester | +5 | +5.6% | Brighton |
| 7 | Cambridge | -2 | +5.6% | London |
| 8 | Milton Keynes | +2 | +5.6% | Basildon |
| 9 | Basildon | -1 | +5.5% | Chelmsford |
| 10 | Chelmsford | -1 | +5.5% | Milton Keynes |
[Table of all 50 cities included in notes to editors]
Southend offers the strongest property investment
With robust house price growth year-on-year, Southend saw the biggest average annual increase in house price of all 50 cities featured, with a rise of 5.9% compared to the national average of 4.4%. This means the average property increased by £16,123 every year for the last 10 years.
Meanwhile, Luton also saw average annual house price growth of 5.9%, while Bristol property owners saw an increase of 5.7%.
However, landlords would be wise to play the long game when making their investments. When it comes to short-term yields, these cities performed notably worse, offering yields between 4%-4.9%.
A solid geographical mix across the top 10
The top 10 cities for long term property returns in the last year are dotted across the country, with representation from several major regions. There’s a strong showing of five in the East (Southend, Luton, Cambridge, Basildon and Chelmsford), two in the East Midlands (Nottingham and Leicester), as well as one apiece in the North West (Manchester), South West (Bristol) and South East (Milton Keynes).
Scotland and the North East offering less attractive returns in the long run
At the other end of the table, two Scottish cities featured in the bottom five for long term property returns, with Aberdeen (50th) ranked as the worst city for the second year in a row, followed by Dundee (49th). Rounding out the bottom five were two cities in the North East: Sunderland (48th) and Newcastle (47th), as well as Bradford (46th) in Yorkshire.
Jon Cooper, head of mortgages at Aldermore, comments: “Over the past year, the housing market has seen major shifts that have affected people across the board, whether you’re a landlord, renter or homeowner. When combined with cost of living pressures and rising energy prices, landlords are naturally being forced to re-evaluate their portfolios. We recommend that all landlords work closely with their brokers to identify where the best returns are for their investments in 2023.”
