Places with the highest rental yields

Rental yields of 7.82% and private rental accommodation making up almost a quarter of its housing stock make Southampton the best place in England and Wales for buy to let (BTL) investors according to research from HSBC.

Of the fifty towns and cities with the highest concentration of private rental housing stock, Southampton topped the list for rental yield due to relatively affordable housing and an average rent of £901 per month. The relatively inexpensive  property prices in Blackpool, Hull Manchester and Nottingham mean that these four Northern areas make up the rest of the top 5, offering strong returns for BTL investors with yields of 7.81%, 7.77%, 7.60% and 7.55% respectively. In sixth place, Coventry is the only other city offering returns above seven per cent with a yield of 7.13%.

Despite the high proportion of private rentals in the capital, London does not score highly in terms of rental yields due to the comparably high property prices. The top performing borough in the capital, Southwark, is 13^th overall while the affluent London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea are ranked in the bottom two places in the top 50 due to the high initial outlay to purchase a property, generating returns of just 3.42% and 3.34% respectively.

Table 1: Top 10 BTL Hotspots by Rental Yield

Location	Average Property Price	Average Rent (Monthly)	Rental Yield (gross)
1. Southampton	£138,311	£901	7.82%
2. Blackpool	£75,943	£494	7.81%
3. Kingston upon Hull	£69,519	£450	7.77%
4. Manchester	£102,631	£650	7.60%
5. Nottingham	£83,313	£524	7.55%
6. Coventry	£104,970	£624	7.13%
7. Slough	£171,581	£975	6.82%
8. Oxford	£244,893	£1,375	6.74%
9. Liverpool	£91,012	£498	6.57%
10. Portsmouth	£141,971	£775	6.55%

Seaside Towns

Due to holiday rentals and seasonal work, many seaside towns are BTL hotspots with 17 of the top 50 areas found on the coast. Blackpool tops the seaside town list with a yield of 7.81%. The rest of the top ten is made up of southern seaside areas, including holiday destinations such as Brighton, Bournemouth and Eastbourne. While property prices tend to be higher in these areas, rents are also above average, meaning yields are strong for investors.

Table 2: Top 10 Seaside BTL Hotspots by Rental Yield

Location	Average Property Price	Average Rent (Monthly)	Rental Yield (gross)
1. Blackpool	£75,943	£494	7.81%
2. Bournemouth	£170,493	£825	5.81%
3. Brighton and Hove	£229,622	£1,049	5.48%
4. Torbay	£139,168	£598	5.16%
5. Southend-on-Sea	£152,171	£650	5.13%
6. Shepway	£181,399	£695	4.60%
7. Eastbourne	£177,408	£675	4.57%
8. Isles of Scilly	£180,227	£654	4.35%
9. Hastings	£177,408	£550	3.72%
10. Thanet	£181,399	£524	3.47%

London

Due to London's high property prices, its rental yields are relatively modest on the whole. Southwark tops the list of boroughs with a yield of 6.15%. Areas in Outer London offer some of the strongest yields in the capital including Newham, Enfield, Brent and Kingston upon Thames. Just three of the top ten areas are in inner London and each of these is in the East of the city, traditionally the more affordable end of the capital.

Table 3: Top 10 London BTL Hotspots by Rental Yield

Location	Average Property Price	Average Rent (Monthly)	Rental Yield (gross)
1. Southwark	£401,405	£2,058	6.15%
2. Newham	£229,141	£1,126	5.90%
3. Enfield	£261,163	£1,200	5.51%
4. Brent	£337,723	£1,517	5.39%
5. Kingston upon Thames	£333,122	£1,363	4.91%
6. Hounslow	£285,927	£1,148	4.82%
7. Wandsworth	£428,987	£1,694	4.74%
8. Lewisham	£283,031	£1,101	4.67%
9. Tower Hamlets	£364,296	£1,387	4.57%
10. Harrow	£306,381	£1,148	4.50%