The North of England is being tipped as one of the most lucrative locations for property investors in 2023 according to buy-to-let investment site, Property Forecaster.
It said investors should move away from cities and focus instead on nearby towns if they wanted to make the best gains.
Bootle in Sefton, Merseyside topped list with the greatest number of ‘Diamond’ ranked properties – these properties had been identified as the best investments by Property Forecaster’s AI powered technology.
Following hot on its heels was Washington in Tyne and Wear and then Hartlepool in County Durham.
Burnley, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Grimsby came in fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively. Gateshead, Kingston-upon-Hull, Salford and Swansea completed the Top Ten.
Anne-Marie Humphreys from Property Forecaster said: “Our technology has identified over 5,000 properties currently available to purchase that will appreciate in today’s market.
“It is definitely a buyer’s market with the purchaser holding the power to negotiate a good price.
“The North East in particular looks like a very strong location for investors in 2023, especially given the government’s levelling up strategy.”
Humphreys explained properties purchased in 2018 had increased in value as much as 200%, especially at the bottom end of the market.
An entry level investment property in the North East in 2018 was £20,000 but was currently being valued at £60,000.
“Whilst this may only be a £40,000 increase,” said Humphreys, “and therefore small in comparison to a monetary gain in property value in London, the percentage gain is dramatically higher”.
Property opportunities: Look beyond the big cities
Property Forecaster also advised, for the best investment opportunities, it was important to look outside of the big cities.
Humphreys said: “For the last four years we have consistently seen that it’s the satellite towns where the best investment buys are available – Bootle, not Liverpool, and Washington, not Sunderland for example”.
She believes properties under £350,000 will offer the best opportunities for investors in 2023. “We don’t envisage that there will be a massive price crash next year as predicted by some experts, especially in properties below £350,000, “she said.
“We are definitely seeing underlying strength in this price bracket. Interest rates are now stabilising as the political climate settles which we believe will prevent the market correction many people were fearing”.
