Winchester in Hampshire is the most vulnerable rental market, new research from Gatehouse Bank has suggested.
The firm’s research ranked 122 towns and cities across the country based on a host of factors important to any landlord, including rental yield, how long available rentals have been on the market as well as the ratio between average salaries and rents.
It suggested that Winchester offers landlords the hardest won gains. The table below details the five places Gatehouse believe landlords are most vulnerable.
| Rank | City/town | Average property price | Average time on the market (days) | Annual yield (%) | Rent as a percentage of earnings |
| 1 | Winchester | £549,706 | 248 | 3.1 | 56.2 |
| 2 | Cambridge | £446,938 | 251 | 2.9 | 45.6 |
| 3 | Chichester | £413,343 | 269 | 3.3 | 45.8 |
| 4 | Warwick | £353,197 | 254 | 3.0 | 40 |
| 5 | Reading | £415,192 | 230 | 3.4 | 46.7 |
Where landlords are in a stronger position
At the other end of the scale, the north and the midlands dominates the list for areas where landlords are in a more solid position.
Here are the top five according to Gatehouse Bank.
| Rank | City/town | Average property price | Average time on the market (days) | Annual yield (%) | Rent as a percentage of earnings |
| 1 | Bootle | £100,527 | 183 | 5.6 | 22.3 |
| 2 | Inverness | £184,849 | 124 | 4.8 | 30.9 |
| 3 | Stoke-on-Trent | £145,904 | 147 | 4.2 | 22.6 |
| 4 | Barnsley | £136,497 | 168 | 4.3 | 22.3 |
| 5 | St Helens | £133,460 | 178 | 4.3 | 21.6 |
Gatehouse noted that properties available to let have been sitting on the market for almost a third longer in Winchester compared to Bootle, while the average yield is significantly higher in the Merseyside town as well.
Of the UK’s major cities, Manchester performed well taking 34th spot, ahead of Glasgow in 43rd, Birmingham in 75th and London all the way down in 89th position.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Edinburgh and London take the bottom spots when comparing rents to earnings, with rents accounting for 73% and 92% of local earnings respectively. Other particularly expensive towns include Oxford (70.8%), Guildford (69.3%) and Brighton (66.6%).
In contrast the three most affordable cities are all found in the north of England – Hartlepool is the most affordable at 17.5%, followed by Darlington (19.6%) and Stockton-on-Tees (19.9%).
Overall, Gatehouse Bank found that properties for rent have sat on the market for an average of 197 days, with a typical yield of 4.6% and an average rent to earnings ratio of 37%.
Affordable rents play a big part
Charles Haresnape, chief executive officer at Gatehouse Bank, said: “What our research shows is that famous northern hospitality is not a myth. It’s a great place not only to be a landlord but also to live, with cities in the north and the midlands performing much better across all indicators.
“Rental properties are let far quicker than in the south, which is no surprise when major cities like Liverpool and Manchester are within commuting distance of smaller towns like Bootle.
“What’s really striking is that in the areas that performed best, rental rates were far more affordable and this correlation underscores the symbiotic relationship between renters and landlords in areas where their investments could be deemed safest.”
