Buy-to-let investors now targeting the Midlands

BUY-TO-LET investors are increasingly targeting northern England and the Midlands as they look for higher-yielding homes with lower buying costs, according to a property firm.

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Nearly two-fifths (39%) of buy-to-lets purchased in Britain during the first four months of 2025 were in the North of England or the Midlands, Hamptons estimates, up from 24% in 2007 and 34% in 2022.

Hamptons suggested that stamp duty costs and lower rental yields (the annual return made by a landlord on a property compared with the property price) have shifted landlords’ attention away from southern England.

The average investor buying in the Midlands and North of England paid £150,480 for a new buy-to-let this year, £141,760 less than a landlord who bought in the South of England for an average of £292,240, researchers said.