Is the North West the best place to buy-to-let in the UK?

Landlords believe that the North West is the best place to invest in buy-to-let property.

Or at least they do according to over 1,300 voters in our online poll.

Where should landlords invest in buy-to-let?

When looking into the best buy-to-let areas in the UK, we polled our readers on where they would invest when looking to buy their next property.

Lendinvest’s Buy-To-Let Index highlighted four key regions for investment - inner London, the South coast, outskirts of London and the North West - based on rental yield, capital gains and return on investment.

And it was the North West that seemed to strike a chord with our landlord audience, as over 40 per cent selected the region when asked where they would ideally invest in buy-to-let property.

What’s more important: rental yield or capital gains?

One area the North West did come out on top was on rental yield.

Three of the top five areas for rental yield were found to be in the region, as Manchester (6.02%), Liverpool (5.16%) and Oldham (4.98%) all showed impressive figures.

However, the North West’s southern counterparts seemed to perform better when it came to capital gains.

All of the top 10 areas for capital gains were in either London, its surrounding areas or the South Coast. Yet judging by the ongoing results of our poll, it would appear landlords are placing greater importance on short-term profits than those possible by the sale of a property - an interesting point given warnings of a buy-to-let collapse.

Are landlords in it for the long-haul?

The suggestion from the poll is that landlords are looking to the future when it comes to buy-to-let.

Whilst the temptation might be to assume that higher interest rates and tax changes could scare away investors, the indication that rental yield is of utmost importance is a positive sign for the sector.

Would you invest in property in the North West? Let us know in the comments below.