Areas of Greater Manchester: Buy-to-Let Property Investment Hotspots
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by Property Investments UK
The Property Investments UK editorial team have been researching and writing about the UK's property market for more than a decade.
Greater Manchester is the largest region outside London, with the largest economy and the largest jobs market. It’s still very affordable for property investors however. Average property prices across Greater Manchester are well under half of those in London.
Why Invest in Greater Manchester?
Greater Manchester has a population of around 2.8 million. It is also the largest single economic area outside of London with an economy worth £75 billion. Approximately 705,000 people are employed in the Greater Manchester area.
The region has a diverse economy with sectors including manufacturing, logistics, professional services, life sciences, media and public services.
The tech. and digital sectors have grown fast in Greater Manchester and it attracts many dynamic new start-ups. Manchester itself is now rated as the top technology city in the UK.
Greater Manchester is made up of 10 local authorities. These are Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan and the cities of Salford and Manchester itself. The Greater Manchester boroughs are governed by their local council but cooperate in some matters via the Greater Manchester Combined Authority or GMCA.
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Greater Manchester is very well connected to the rest of the UK. There are motorway links and rail services to the rest of the north west, Yorkshire, Scotland, the Midlands and London. Manchester is to be connected to the new HS2 high speed railway sometime in the 2030s.
Manchester Airport is one of the few airports outside London to offer worldwide flights, as well services around the UK and Europe.
Parts of Greater Manchester have frequent services into Manchester city centre on the Metrolink tram network. Areas served by Metrolink are particularly good for commuters.
Greater Manchester offers a high quality of life which attracts many people and businesses to relocate here, helping to boost the property market. The region has excellent leisure, cultural and sporting amenities, a buzzing social scene and top schools. Yet it still has easy access to the Lancashire coast and moors, the Peak District and Lake District.
Greater Manchester is also one of the top student destinations in the UK. There are around 100,000 students at universities including the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University so the areas near the universities have a big student accommodation market.
Property Values
Greater Manchester is a very good value area for property investors. Average prices here are around 25% cheaper than the national average. Greater Manchester property prices are only around 45% of those in Greater London.
The average house price across Greater Manchester is £232,190 based on HM Land Registry figures. This compares to the UK average house price of approximately £316,000.
Investors can find even cheaper property in Greater Manchester though. Zoopla listings show that the region’s house prices start at just £40,000.
Where are the cheapest areas of Greater Manchester? Where are the most expensive areas of Greater Manchester? HM Land Registry say that the cheapest areas of Greater Manchester are Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale and Wigan. The most expensive areas of Greater Manchester are Trafford and Stockport.
Rental Demand
Greater Manchester landlords can let to locals, people who come to work in the area and students in the student areas. There’s also a short-term letting and serviced accommodation market mainly in Manchester itself.
How much can buy to let investors make from a rental property here? Actual rents depend on the type of property and location. Achievable rents should be checked with a local letting agent. However, figures from Home.co.uk’s Greater Manchester Market Rent Summary say the average monthly rent across the region is around £1,461.
Home.co.uk’s statistics say that the average monthly rental incomes across the different areas of Greater Manchester are: Bolton £902 PCM. Bury £1,254 PCM. Manchester £1,595 PCM. Oldham £784 PCM. Rochdale £992 PCM. Salford £1,652 PCM. Stockport £1,065 PCM. Tameside £852 PCM. Trafford £1,304 PCM. Wigan £765 PCM.
What are letting yields like in Greater Manchester? Yields in Greater Manchester based on a long let are around 4% to 6% according to property xyz.
If you aren’t sure which council area a property falls under you can find out at Check your Council Tax band - GOV.UK
Property Investment in Greater Manchester
Population: 2.8 million approximately
Average House Price: £232,190 approximately
Bolton
Population: 288,000
Average House Price: £184,300
Bolton was traditionally a cotton manufacturing town. Today, Bolton’s industries include manufacturing and logistics, professional services, creative and digital industries, retail and leisure, construction, science and R&D, and green technology.
Bolton has good transport connections around the region on the M61 and M60 and a fast train service into Manchester city centre (21 minutes).
Bolton’s town centre has suffered from retail decline, but an exciting £1 billion regeneration plan is underway.
Bolton is home to the University of Bolton so there is also a student accommodation market.
Bolton is currently the cheapest part of Greater Manchester for investment property with yields of 4.2% on average according to property.xyz.
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Bury
Population: 188,700
Average House Price: £241,400
Bury’s claims to fame include having Britain’s biggest regular market (around 400 stalls) and being the home of Bury black pudding.
Bury has good road connections on the M60 and M66. It also has a direct tram link into Manchester city centre (40 minutes) serving Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich along the way.
In property terms, Bury is a very diverse area. The northern districts like Ramsbottom and Tottington are in semi-rural Lancashire. But the southern districts like Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich are popular with Manchester commuters.
Bury house prices are just above the regional average and yields are around 4.3% according to property.xyz.
Manchester
Population: 553,000
Average House Price: £234,800
The City of Manchester itself is the commercial and economic heart of not only Greater Manchester but the north west of England.
Thousands of people work in the city in well-paid sectors like finance, law, media, digital, technology and public services which all help to boost the property market in the city. There is also a large student population of around 100,000 across Manchester and Salford.
Manchester has a very varied property market making it one of the best buy-to-let cities for investor choice.
Manchester city centre has seen a huge amount of development in recent years and has the largest city living market outside London with over 50,000 residents. The city centre offers a yield of 5% according to property.xyz. Nearby Hulme offers good value property and a 5.5% yield.
Suburbs like Levenshulme in the south east and Newton Heath in the north have the cheapest Manchester investment property. Yields are around 5-6%. Didsbury is south Manchester’s swishest suburb, popular with families and professionals. Yields here are around 3-4%.
South of the city centre, particularly Rusholme and Fallowfield, is popular for student buy-to-let property being close to the Manchester university campuses. This is likely to be one of the best buy-to-let areas in Manchester – the M14 area offers yields over 7% and an HMO shared house could yield much more.
Oldham
Population: 224,000
Average House Price: £186,400
Oldham is just 8 miles from Manchester. Oldham has good transport links being right by the M60 and M62 while frequent tram services run from Oldham into Manchester city centre.
Main Oldham industries are light manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, health, construction, retail, distribution/logistics and business services.
There is a £350m regeneration plan to improve Oldham town centre with new amenities and homes.
Oldham is a good value property location. Locations like Chadderton, Royton and Shaw are particularly popular residential areas. Yields are around 4.7% across the town.
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Rochdale
Population: 216,200
Average House Price: £189,200
Like several of the towns around Manchester, Rochdale is a former textile town that was hit hard by the decline of the textile industry. However, there’s been much regeneration with Rochdale Riverside and more is underway, with new shops, leisure amenities and apartments in the town centre.
Rochdale is on the Metrolink tram network and has up to five fast trains an hour into Manchester Victoria (the fastest journey time is 11 minutes). It is also right on the M62 so is popular with regional commuters.
The huge Kingsway Business Park near Rochdale provides many jobs. A planned new development zone known as Atom Valley in the Rochdale, Oldham and Bury areas could provide a major new centre of employment and industry in the coming years.
Rochdale is one of the cheapest Greater Manchester boroughs for property prices. Letting yields are 4.3% yield on average.
Salford
Population: 248,700
Average House Price: £216,500
The City of Salford is a diverse part of Greater Manchester. It has both residential areas and commercial areas while part of Manchester city centre is actually in Salford.
Salford is also a university city, making it particularly good for student buy to let.
The Salford Quays area is a huge regeneration area based around the old docklands. It’s home to the Lowry Theatre, Imperial War Museum, Media City, the BBC and ITV. The area is expanding further with new commercial and residential developments.
The latest Salford Crescent masterplan will regenerate the area in the area around the University of Salford’s Peel Park campus. £2.5 billion could be invested here over the coming years.
Salford is a cheaper part of Greater Manchester overall and offers good value property. Good average yields of 5.7% are possible according to property.xyz.
Salford’s suburbs like Ordsall, Weaste and Eccles also have particularly low prices (from £65,000) which means yields can reach over 6%.
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Stockport
Population: 290,600
Average House Price: £302,000
Stockport is just a 10-minute train ride/20-minute bus journey from Manchester city centre making it popular with commuters, but it also has a strong local employment market too.
Important Stockport industries include wholesale and retail, financial services, health and social care, manufacturing industries, creative and digital plus professional, scientific and technical services.
Stockport town centre has been hit by a decline in retail in recent years but a £1 billion regeneration plan is underway and is bringing new offices, public amenities and new town centre homes.
The Heatons are popular commuter areas while further out places like Marple, Hazel Grove and Bramhall have good transport links and easy access to the Peak District countryside.
Stockport overall is Greater Manchester’s second most expensive borough for property. Yields are around 3-4% across the area according to property.xyz.
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Tameside
Population: 224,100
Average House Price: £209,400
Tameside is in the east of the Greater Manchester area and Ashton Under Lyne is the largest town. The area has good train services into Manchester (the fastest service is 11 minutes) as well as into West Yorkshire making it good for commuters.
Tameside has a diverse property market. Areas like Denton and Hyde are suburban while areas like Stalybridge, Mottram and Mossley are semi-rural.
Tameside has good value property with prices under the Greater Manchester average. Yields across the area are typically at least 3.5% according to property.xyz.
Trafford
Population: 234,700
Average House Price: £370,900
Trafford borough stretches out from inner city Manchester to the edge of rural Cheshire. It’s known for Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground, the Lancashire County Cricket Club ground and the Trafford Centre shopping mall.
Trafford is home to Trafford Park – one of Europe’s largest business parks – where thousands of jobs are based.
Trafford is one of Manchester’s most accessible areas with a Metrolink tram service into Manchester city centre and easy access to the M60 and M56.
Trafford is Greater Manchester’s most expensive borough. Altrincham, Hale and Sale are high-priced areas and yields are around 3-3.5%. Areas like Stretford and Urmston offer better value and around 5% should be possible.
Wigan
Population: 323,100
Average House Price: £187,000
A one-time mill and mining town Wigan’s economy now is now grounded in light manufacturing and distribution.
Wigan has good road links via the M6 and M58. It has train connections towards Manchester and Liverpool making it attractive to commuters and travellers.
Wigan Council has a framework aimed at regenerating the town centre including redeveloping The Galleries shopping centre and providing new town centre amenities.
Wigan is one of the cheapest parts of Greater Manchester right now. Currently, at least a 4% yield is possible in most areas although the WN1, WN2 and WN3 areas offer 5%.
About Our Data
Note: Population estimates are based on information provided by Localstats. Current average asking prices are taken from HM Land Registry data and Zoopla. Buy-to-let yields by postcode are taken from Property.xyz.