Why Manchester Is Becoming A Hotspot For International Property Investors

Over recent years, property investors have been flocking to Manchester and it is no secret that the housing market in the “capital of the north” has been faring much better than the one in the UK’s official capital of London.

It’s not just UK-based property investors who have set down investment roots in Manchester. Many international property investors have also been drawn to the north’s greatest city and for the exact same reasons as their UK-based counterparts. 

Affordable prices 

Manchester’s economy spent many years in the doldrums before the Northern Powerhouse initiative helped to bring it back to its former glory. This means that house prices were extremely low and so their housing market has been able to “power forward” while still remaining very affordable. 

This means that investors who missed out on the start of Manchester’s growth period can console themselves with the thought that there is still plenty of room for growth without compromising affordability. 

In this context, it’s also worth noting that for many property investors, capital gains are essentially a pleasant bonus. Their real interest is yield and here, again, Manchester scores very highly. 

Excellent demographics 

One of the most attractive features of the Manchester housing market is that property investors and residential buyers largely co-exist peacefully with one another. 

The reason for this is that Manchester’s rental market is mostly driven by “lifestyle renters”, such as students and young-adult professionals in the “pre-family” stage of life rather than by people who would like to buy but can’t manage to put together a suitable deposit while renting. 

This demographic is in a continual process of expansion. There are three main reasons for this. Firstly, Manchester is now becoming a place where people from other parts of the UK choose to go for work. Many of these people are both millennials and professionals. 

Secondly, increasing numbers of graduates from Manchester’s universities are choosing to stay in the city to begin their professional careers. 

Thirdly, more and more people are returning to Manchester after they have completed their studies elsewhere. 

A Brexit-proof economy 

London has made no secret of its dislike of Brexit. While the city has much more to offer than the financial services and education sectors for which it is possibly most famous, these sectors both play a significant role in its economy and neither is happy about the prospect of Brexit. 

Given time, London can be expected to recover from whatever Brexit may bring; the city has a long history of not only surviving difficult times, but coming back from them stronger than it was before. 

Right now, however, Manchester looks rather better placed to cope with Brexit, in whatever form it takes, for the simple reason that it has a much more diversified local economy. In this context, it’s also worth noting that while London is renowned for its multiculturalism and its global outlook, these days Manchester is more than a match for it. 

The city has excellent ties with the rest of the world, especially Asia, which are expected to serve it well in the event of a hard Brexit. 

Author Bio 

Hopwood House are specialists in UK property investment, with a wide range of investment opportunities including student properties and buy-to-let in Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds.