Mounting cost pressures are driving landlords to look north for investments, with Hamptons finding a record number of BTL purchases made in the North and Midlands in 2025.
In the first four months of 2025, a record 39% of BTL purchases were made in the North and Midlands.
This is up from 34% in 2022 when interest rates began to rise and much higher than the 24% recorded when Hamptons began gathering this data in 2007.
The shift northwards comes as BTL volumes fall overall, with such purchases only accounting for 10% of all home purchases in 2025 - down from 11% in 2024.
Lower property prices than in the south are helping attract landlords which mean smaller stamp duty bills, combined with higher rental yield.
According to Hamptons, the average BTL investor would pay £150,480 for a property in the Midlands or North of England.
This is 49%, or £141,760, lower than the average of £292,240 paid in the South.
As a result, this leads to a £11,190 saving in stamp duty.
Rental yields also tend to be higher in the Northern regions, with the average gross BTL yield in the North East being 9.3% compared to national average of 7.1%.
In London, the average gross BTL rental yield is 5.7%.
Hamptons found London-based investors were increasingly looking beyond the capital for BTL opportunities as a result.
Nearly two thirds (65%) of London-based investors bought a BTL outside the capital in 2025, up from 41% in 2015 and 24% in 2007.
Overall rents have been growing and the UK average increased by £44 month-on-month to April, with an average of £1,257 achieved.
This was based on rent renewals, whereas lets where a new tenant moved in only increased by £17 at the same time.
In London, rents on newly let properties have been falling for the past five months.
The average rent in London fell by 1.4% over the 12 months to April 2025, while renewal rents increased by only 0.5%.
Only 23% of London landlords increased rent upon renewal in April 2025, down from 37% the year before.
