UK Buy-to-Let Yield Map 2019/2020

Looking for the key to successful property investment? Use our 2019/2020 buy-to-let guide yield to find prime pockets of profit and discover which areas aren’t worth the money.

Continued changes in tax relief and greater landlord responsibilities are two factors that may have you wondering if residential investment properties are worth it. To help you come to a conclusion, we’ve analysed the data of nearly 500,000 properties across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission: to calculate the buy-to-let yield for each postcode. The result: a guide full of maps and quick insights to assist your decision in investment property.

Top 25 buy-to-let areas

Postcodes in the top 25 are delivering handsome returns. The highest is Liverpool, where landlords can enjoy 10% yields. Coming a close second and third are Falkirk (9.51%) and Glasgow (8.71%). With two of these being renowned university cities, the consistent flow of potential tenants puts landlords in a healthy position.

Even the postcodes at the lower end of the top 25, such as Sunderland and Lancaster, are returning yields of around 7%.

Rank# PostcodePC Postcode TownPCT Properties for Rent Median Rental Value Properties for Sale Median Asking Price Yield
1 L1 Liverpool 187 £750 368 £90,000 10.00%
2 FK3 Falkirk 30 £495 39 £62,450 9.51%
3 G52 Glasgow 46 £595 66 £82,000 8.71%
4 L11 Liverpool 55 £650 31 £90,000 8.67%
5 TS1 Cleveland 65 £425 34 £60,000 8.50%
6 KA1 Kilmarnock 68 £450 75 £64,995 8.31%
7 L6 Liverpool 153 £575 59 £85,000 8.12%
8 LE1 Leicester 176 £667 116 £100,000 8.00%
9 LS2 Leeds 111 £825 32 £125,000 7.92%
10 S1 Sheffield 219 £750 68 £115,000 7.83%
11 CF43 Cardiff 36 £425 35 £67,000 7.61%
12 TS3 Cleveland 60 £475 63 £74,975 7.60%
13 L2 Liverpool 115 £850 106 £135,000 7.56%
14 PA3 Paisley 42 £425 43 £68,500 7.45%
15 L3 Liverpool 282 £740 360 £119,950 7.40%
16 SR8 Sunderland 85 £450 143 £73,725 7.32%
17 G51 Glasgow 74 £595 31 £97,500 7.32%
18 NE8 Gateshead 148 £575 75 £94,950 7.27%
19 AB11 Aberdeen 173 £600 45 £99,995 7.20%
20 G67 Glasgow 57 £450 65 £75,000 7.20%
21 G32 Glasgow 46 £475 76 £79,995 7.13%
22 L4 Liverpool 136 £475 94 £80,000 7.13%
23 G21 Glasgow 30 £550 31 £92,995 7.10%
24 LA14 Lancaster 50 £500 128 £85,000 7.06%
25 SR5 Sunderland 46 £495 40 £84,950 6.99%

Liverpool

Falkirk

Glasgow

The North East

The UK’s worst buy-to-let postcodes

Here are the worst-performing postcodes for buy-to-let investments.

Rank# PostcodePC Postcode TownPCT Properties for Rent Median Rental Value Properties for Sale Median Asking Price Yield
1 WC1X London 440 £2,825 76 £1,484,408 2.28%
2 RG10 Reading 68 £1,100 34 £585,000 2.26%
3 GU10 Guilford 71 £1,295 116 £699,950 2.22%
4 KT7 Kingston upon Thames 41 £1,350 47 £737,475 2.20%
5 S7 Sheffield 98 £638 61 £350,000 2.19%
6 B73 Birmingham 69 £680 60 £375,000 2.18%
7 W8 London 400 £3,356 59 £1,962,500 2.05%
8 GL6 Gloucester 50 £795 92 £470,000 2.03%
9 IP13 Ipswich 34 £650 62 £397,500 1.96%
10 AL5 St Albans 115 £1,300 107 £800,000 1.95%

Having looked at the best and worst buy-to-let areas, we now take a closer look at Scotland, Wales and London.

Top 20 London buy-to-let areas

Buy-to-let landlords in London benefit from high rental demand. Big Smoke landlords can enjoy a reliable, constant stream of suitable tenants for a range of property types

Rank# PostcodePC Postcode TownPCT Properties for Rent Median Rental Value Properties for Sale Median Asking Price Yield
1 E12 London 147 £1,799 63 £357,500 6.04%
2 SE17 London 229 £2,059 44 £430,000 5.75%
3 IG11 Ilford 257 £1,350 119 £290,000 5.59%
4 RM9 Romford 112 £1,375 53 £301,995 5.46%
5 RM8 Romford 176 £1,350 77 £305,000 5.31%
6 RM6 Romford 125 £1,450 110 £337,500 5.16%
7 SE11 London 166 £2,100 38 £492,500 5.12%
8 SE28 London 113 £1,250 46 £300,000 5.00%
9 RM10 Romford 119 £1,350 88 £325,000 4.98%
10 N18 London 73 £1,475 44 £359,995 4.92%

10 of the worst buy-to-let areas in London

High asking prices mean a buy-to-let investment property in London must work hard to return a profit. In some areas of London, this is nearly impossible.

Rank# PostcodePC Postcode TownPCT Properties for Rent Median Rental Value Properties for Sale Median Asking Price Yield
1 N21 London 115 £1,495 75 £699,995 2.56%
2 SW1V London 383 £2,383 80 £1,150,000 2.49%
3 SW5 London 383 £2,383 80 £1,150,000 2.49%
4 NW3 London 1048 £2,383 171 £1,170,000 2.44%
5 W1 London 1219 £3,763 138 £1,872,754 2.41%
6 SW14 London 112 £2,000 39 £1,000,000 2.40%
7 N2 London 180 £1,600 71 £810,000 2.37%
8 WC1 London 440 £2,825 76 £1,484,408 2.28%
9 KT7 Kingston upon Thames 41 £1,350 47 £737,475 2.20%
10 W8 London 400 £3,356 59 £1,962,500 2.05%

Top 10 buy-to-let postcodes in Scotland

Two of the top three best buy-to-let postcodes in the whole of the UK are in Scotland — FK3 (9.51%) and G52 (8.71%). But where else puts in a strong performance?

Rank# PostcodePC Postcode TownPCT Properties for Rent Median Rental Value Properties for Sale Median Asking Price Yield
1 G52 Glasgow 46 £595 66 £82,000 8.71%
2 KA1 Kilmarnock 68 £450 75 £64,995 8.31%
3 PA3 Paisley 42 £425 43 £68,500 7.45%
4 G51 Glasgow 74 £595 31 £97,500 7.32%
5 AB11 Aberdeen 173 £600 45 £99,995 7.20%
6 G67 Glasgow 57 £450 65 £75,000 7.20%
7 G32 Glasgow 46 £475 76 £79,995 7.13%
8 G13 Glasgow 118 £670 94 £119,000 6.76%
9 PA1 Paisley 106 £445 58 £79,500 6.72%
10 KA8 Kilmarnock 42 £475 44 £90,000 6.33%

Worst buy-to-let areas in 10 Scotland

The worst performing postcodes seem to be scattered across Scotland, with low yield rates hovering at similar levels wherever the postcode.

Rank# PostcodePC Postcode TownPCT Properties for Rent Median Rental Value Properties for Sale Median Asking Price Yield
1 AB15 Aberdeen 131 £895 83 £289,000 3.72%
2 G77 Glasgow 41 £850 106 £279,000 3.66%
3 KA7 Kilmarnock 59 £560 80 £185,000 3.63%
4 G84 Glasgow 32 £575 59 £190,000 3.63%
5 G71 Glasgow 34 £575 109 £190,000 3.63%
6 KY16 Kirkcaldy 76 £1,050 48 £350,000 3.60%
7 FK9 Falkirk 41 £795 48 £265,000 3.60%
8 PH2 Perth 83 £575 73 £192,000 3.59%
9 KY15 Kirkcaldy 52 £550 41 £210,000 3.14%
10 TD15 Galashiels 33 £475 38 £185,000 3.08%

Ten best buy-to-let postcodes in Wales

Unsurprisingly, Cardiff, Newport and Swansea dominate the top 10 for Wales.

Rank# PostcodePC Postcode TownPCT Properties for Rent Median Rental Value Properties for Sale Median Asking Price Yield
1 CF43 Cardiff 36 £425 35 £67,000 7.61%
2 CF39 Cardiff 39 £495 69 £99,995 5.94%
3 NP13 Newport 31 £395 50 £82,000 5.78%
4 SA1 Swansea 338 £650 116 £135,000 5.78%
5 CF10 Cardiff 265 £825 53 £174,950 5.66%
6 SA12 Swansea 41 £520 70 £111,475 5.60%
7 SA5 Swansea 69 £550 57 £120,000 5.50%
8 CF37 Cardiff 92 £540 83 £123,000 5.27%
9 SA11 Swansea 69 £468 101 £110,000 5.11%
10 NP23 Newport 32 £425 60 £99,950 5.10%

Worst 10 postcodes in Wales

Almost like a reflected mirror of the top 10, here are the lowest postcodes in Wales.

Rank# PostcodePC Postcode TownPCT Properties for Rent Median Rental Value Properties for Sale Median Asking Price Yield
1 NP10 Newport 55 £675 67 £229,972 3.52%
2 LL30 Llandudno 34 £565 52 £193,000 3.51%
3 NP26 Newport 32 £798 53 £280,000 3.42%
4 CF15 Cardiff 33 £738 51 £280,000 3.16%
5 CF64 Cardiff 93 £795 122 £310,000 3.08%
6 CF14 Cardiff 277 £760 187 £300,000 3.04%
7 SA3 Swansea 45 £850 107 £339,748 3.00%
8 NP16 Newport 66 £700 86 £290,000 2.90%
9 NP25 Newport 37 £725 48 £370,000 2.35%
10 NP7 Newport 43 £607 79 £317,498 2.29%

Doing the calculations: how we worked out the buy-to-let yields

The facts and figures in this report are designed to help property investors.

We’ve worked out the figures using information from Realyse, which specialises in property data.

For a postcode to be included in our analysis it must have more than 30 properties for sale and 30 properties to rent. In total, we analysed 478,486 properties. Of these, 217,055 properties were listed as for sale and 261,431 properties were listed to rent. The buy-to-let yield is defined as the average annual rent divided by the average asking price.

Extra postcode map data was collected from Wikipedia.

Are you financially ready for an investment property?

Using information from this data gives residential property investors an idea of where the most worthwhile buy-to-let areas in the UK could be.

TotallyMoney’s James McCaffrey explains: “As credit experts, TotallyMoney is committed to improving the UK’s credit score with free credit reports, and helping people move on up to a better future. The data analysed is another way we’re working to arm people with useful information.

“What’s clear from the maps and data is there are strong pockets of profit across the UK. Currently, the North of England and Scotland are buy-to-let hotspots, delivering consistent 7% yields or higher. New and existing landlords should check the UK property market regularly to see where good investments are.”

For an idea of how lenders view you, sign up for your Free Credit Report. You’ll get clear picture of your credit rating and your borrowing potential, and signing up won’t harm your credit score. Your next stop should then be our buy-to-let mortgage comparison tool — designed to help you find the best buy-to-let mortgages.