Top Locations For Student Buy to Lets

Record numbers of students are heading to university each year; in 2016, 424,000 offers of places were made for degree courses in the UK…

According to UCAS, this is up 3% on last year. With the costs of attending university on the rise, the demand for affordable student accommodation continues to grow. For would-be property investors this creates a great opportunity.

The online estate agent eMoov provides a handy University Property Index which identifies the best locations throughout the UK based on academic status and affordable housing. For those with children attending university it can make financial sense to look at a property as the benefits are two-fold; cheap housing for the duration of your child’s university career, and a sound investment that is likely to grow annually potentially offsetting some of the fees or at the least providing an additional source of income for the future.

Unsurprisingly, the south of the UK should be avoided. Not only are the point demands of many southern universities very high but they have sky high property prices to match. This year, the University of Leeds came out top, followed by Sunderland and Bradford, all areas where there are plenty of sources of affordable properties.

Don’t forget to look for properties that are in close proximity to the university campus as these have the most appeal. Properties with large numbers of rooms can be appealing as a HMO (Housing of Multiple Occupancy) as you can rent a number of rooms and increase your return on investment. Remember that students are not always the most house-proud tenants so keep the decor clean, and
simple but practical.

The momentum in this housing sector does not appear to show any sign of slowing. Across the first four months of 2016 17,000 student beds were traded across the country – a total value of £950
million.

Isn’t it time you considered getting educated in this market? Click here to register for a free 2 hour workshop to find out about this strategy and more.