Manchester: The strongest rental market in the UK?

Manchester. Home to our head office & one of the strongest property markets in recent years.

In this article we’ll be taking a look at the rental market here, why it’s such an exciting place to invest in and what 2022 has meant for buy-to-let owners here.

First of all, Manchester has had billions of pounds in investment in commerce & property projects since the turn of the century, and with a metro area with a population of 2.8 million people, there is proven demand for both jobs & properties, leading to a booming economy.

Here are some of the key numbers making up the rental market right now:

• Void periods in Manchester & the rest of the North West are at record lows of just 7 days - one of the lowest in the country and providing an incredibly quick turnaround for investors.
• The average rental price increased a massive 44% across the North West in July alone, with a large demand for student lets in Manchester & Liverpool playing a big role in this. This is according to data taken from GoodLord.
• Even before July, Manchester itself saw the largest rental price increase from June 2021 to June 2022, with rents increasing by 23.1% on average (Rightmove)
• Over August, these prices did come down from the highs of July by 19%, again according to GoodLord's data

Clearly one of the strongest rental markets in the country with an incredible demand for accommodation, it will come as no surprise that the average monthly rent in June was £1,127, up almost £400 per month from the same period in the previous year.

We’re also seeing a fresh new demand for apartment buildings, with Build-To-Rent developments becoming increasingly popular for tenants & investors alike across the country, but especially in Northern cities with a good yield & higher predicted capital gains.

However, rental prices are set to surge even more of the next couple of years, with a slow-down seen in build-to-rent units coming to the market. 2018 saw 1,685 BTR apartments completed, with 2,242 coming in 2019, 2,325 in 2020, and 2,641 last year. To put this in perspective, only 431 BTR apartments are set to be completed this year, with only 1,888 apartments in general set to become available before the end of 2023.

Demand currently way outstrips supply, especially in Manchester city centre & we expect this will continue to be the case for the next couple of years at least.

Have a property to let in Manchester? Book in a call with our team below