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What makes Manchester such a property investment hotspot?

25th June 2015 Print

Manchester is one of the most major cities in the North of England, and indeed in the UK as a whole. It is the country's most highly-populated stretch of urban space outside of London, with 2.55 million individuals in the greater Manchester area including more than half a million in the city itself.

Manchester expanded rapidly from a town to a city in the nineteenth century, thanks to its central location close to major transport routes which made it a hub of the Northern textile industry. Today, Manchester has shifted to become a centre of business, commerce, and culture. It has also been highlighted in a study by KPMG as the most affordable European city to live in of all those examined. As a result, it draws individuals from every section of society to make their home as part of a diverse population. It is also home to three popular universities, and this lends a sizeable student element to Manchester's population. For property investors, the practical upshot of all of this is a diverse range of potentially lucrative opportunities in the city.

One major attraction of property investment in Manchester is that it offers many of the same advantages as London; a major, centrally located city with high demand, a diverse population and a full spectrum of property investment opportunities. The main London feature that Manchester lacks, however, is the exceptionally high average property value that makes the capital a costly and often inaccessible market. Despite Manchester offering far more affordable properties than London, it often proves a more profitable place to invest. London's yields are actually fairly low and investors are increasingly looking to regional alternatives that offer more profitable opportunities, with Manchester named time and time again as one of the key hotspots.

Manchester is especially well-placed within one of the country's star alternative property sectors at present. Student property has been named the best-performing asset class in the UK market by Knight Frank, and Manchester is home to some excellent opportunities for investors who want to add a piece of this action to their portfolios. It is home to three popular universities including the largest non-collegiate, full-time university in the UK – the University of Manchester – and students make up a sizeable segment of the city's population. With student numbers across the UK growing year-on-year and increasing numbers of international students coming here for university education, the supply of property is struggling and, most often, failing to keep up. The number of students exceeds the number of beds and this creates strong demand and excellent yield potential for investment in student property in Manchester.

Traditional property markets are also very robust in Manchester and offer great opportunities for investment. The city has a strong economy and is ahead of the UK as a whole when it comes to recovery from the economic crisis. This is leading businesses to do well, jobs to be created, and more and more people to head to the city. Factors like a low cost of living and the 9th lowest tax cost of all the world's industrialised cities make the city appealing to individuals, families and businesses alike and this creates demand for both residential and commercial lettings.

Author Bio

Hopwood House are property investment specialists with a large portfolio of investment opportunities both in the UK and overseas. For more information, please visit www.hopwoodhouse.com