In the Premier League rental yield table, eight of the top 10 teams with the most lucrative yields are in the north of England or Midlands.
The north of England and Midlands are continuing to provide a range of property investment opportunities with lucrative rental yields and more affordable property prices. The findings from letting agent comparison site Rentround, which used Zoopla and PropertyData figures, show a continuing north-south divide in yields for landlords.
Leading the Premier League table in rental market figures, Newcastle United has an average rental yield of 6.4%. Southampton follows with a 6.2% rental yield found around the club’s stadium.
Manchester City is in third at 5.7%. With strong demand and lucrative rental yields, Manchester was even recently named the best UK city for buy-to-let investment.
Both teams in Liverpool make the top 5
In a local derby, Everton and Liverpool are tied for fourth with 5.4% rental yields found near both stadiums. Home to especially low entry prices, Liverpool regularly wins the best place for rental yields in Totally Money’s annual report.
Raj Dosanjh, co-founder of Rentround, comments: “For the last couple of years, the Merseyside region has been notorious for landlords looking to take advantage of good yields and that continues to be the case.”
These above-average yields in Liverpool are one of the top attractions for buy-to-let investors. Additionally, with strong levels of regeneration taking place, Liverpool’s house prices are also likely to rise in the future.
Yorkshire and the Midlands make strong showing
Helping round out the top 10 are two clubs in Yorkshire and the Humber and two clubs in the Midlands. Newly promoted Leeds United is in sixth with a 5.2% rental yield. Leeds also saw some of the strongest house price growth in the UK last year as the city continues to see demand grow in the property market.
Then, the Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sheffield United and Brighton & Hove Albion follow with 4.9%, 4.6% and 4.4% yields respectively. Aston Villa, West Ham and Leicester City are all tied for 10th with 4.2% rental yields.
Lowest yields in London and the south
The football clubs in the south, especially those in London, bring up the bottom half of the table. These areas are home to lower rental yields and higher property prices. Fulham takes the bottom spot with only a 2.2% yield. Chelsea only fares slightly better with a 2.7% yield. Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspurs and Arsenal are in 13th, 16th and 17th respectively with yields ranging from 3.2% to 3.9%.
Raj Dosanjh says: “In recent times, London’s been famous for its low yields, with owners instead benefiting from capital gains growth. However, with working from home practices developing at a drastic rate and former commuters now seeking larger properties outside of the cities, it will be interesting to see if the growth rate in London property price slows, which of course may veer yields in a different direction.”
This league table further shows why so many buy-to-let investors are looking to the north and Midlands for better returns. Additionally, London has been impacted the most by the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. This could push even more investors to look outside of the capital for property investment opportunities.
