Property Investment and Buy-to-Let in North Wales

North Wales might be known for being home to one of the UK’s highest mountains – Snowdon – but it’s less well known for having some of the UK’s lowest property prices. Here’s our guide to the best areas of North Wales for property investment.

Why Invest in North Wales?

Investors looking for good value property investments won’t be disappointed when looking for an investment in North Wales. North Wales property prices are around 30% lower than the wider UK right across the board. It’s even possible to find a buy to let in North Wales from as little as £35,500 – read on to find out where.

North Wales is a diverse region. It includes Wrexham which is the fourth largest town in Wales plus the counties of Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey which are more rural.

Although it is quite sparsely populated North Wales has a population of 696,000 – more than the City of Manchester – according to Welsh Government figures. They add that North Wales has the highest employment rate, the lowest unemployment rate and the highest household income of any of the Welsh regions.

North Wales has a diverse economy too. Although agriculture and tourism are important here the more modern industries of North Wales include manufacturing, high tech. manufacturing, biotech. and financial and professional services.

The good news for property investors is there are plans to boost the economy here, which should benefit the North Wales property market. The North Wales Economic Ambition Board has joined the Welsh and UK Governments to sign a deal that could see £1 billion invested into North Wales. The programmes within the deal include projects in low carbon energy, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, land and property, skills and employment, digital connectivity, and strategic transport.

One of North Wales’ biggest assets is its beautiful scenery, including the famous Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh), the Lleyn Peninsula, sandy beaches, impressive castles like Conwy Castle and Caernarfon Castle plus historic towns and villages. Thanks to this there is a thriving tourist economy attracting around 30 million visitors every year, and creating good demand for holiday lettings in many parts of North Wales.

More than £100 million is currently being invested into making North Wales an even more popular place to visit, which should increase tourist numbers.

North Wales also has a student accommodation market that most student property investors overlook. There are universities at Bangor, which has around 10,000 students, and Wrexham.

Property Values in North Wales

The average house price in the UK is currently £234,742, according to HM Land Registry figures. But the average house price in Wales is currently just £165,135.

Average house prices in the different counties of North Wales are as follows: Conwy £170,848. Denbighshire £164,062. Flintshire £174,968. Gwynedd £167,598. Isle of Anglesey £177,495. Wrexham £157,208.

While house prices in some places have been static or have even fallen recently house prices in North Wales have increased over the year. According to this report prices in Conwy rose 7.9%, prices in Anglesey rose 5.1% and prices in Wrexham rose 4.5%.

Rental Demand in North Wales

North Wales overall has good demand for rented property, but demand is different in different areas. In some places, the demand for buy-to-lets is from the local market. In other parts of North Wales, there is good demand for holiday lets or student lets.

Buy to let landlords across Wales as a whole can expect to earn £650 a month from an average rental property according to Homelet. Rents rose a healthy 5.5% over the last year.

Attractive rents but below UK average property prices mean North Wales can offer good investor yields. Average letting yields in North Wales, according to LiveYield, are as follows: Conwy 4.1%. Denbighshire 4.9%. Flintshire 4.9%. Gwynedd 3.8%. Isle of Anglesey 3.8%. Wrexham 4%. Property investors should find that student property yields and holiday property yields are much higher, of course.