AspenProperty investment guide to Liverpool | Aspen Woolf
Liverpool is increasingly attracting property investors looking for consistently high yields, affordable property prices even in the city centre, and a thriving city with big plans for the future.
It’s the city that gave us the Beatles, Liverpool and Everton Football Clubs and it’s a city with a famously strong identity. After struggling with recession-based underdevelopment throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Liverpool is fast emerging as a city of opportunity.
Property investment in Liverpool offers amazing opportunities
The city of Liverpool and the wider regional area offer unmissable property investment opportunities. Boasting an average rental yield of 5.05%, it far surpasses most other cities, and is particularly attractive when compared to London’s 3.05%.
GoCompare’s recent research looking for the best UK cities for landlords names Liverpool as one of the highest yields in the country. Not only does Liverpool consistently beat the nation’s average for yields (currently at 3.6%), but rents are also increasing. Low property prices plus high yields and city-centre level rents all add up to put Liverpool firmly on the map for property investors looking to boost their portfolio.
Regeneration projects began in the late 1980s with the revitalisation of the famous Albert Dock area. Transforming a previously derelict area into a thriving business, retail, cultural and commercial hub, this project kickstarted decades of growth and regeneration.
Current and future regeneration plans
Current and future plans for Liverpool are on a large scale. Liverpool Waters and its sister site Wirral Waters is creating five new neighbourhoods across a riverside site. Named as one of the four major enterprise zones by the Government in 2011, the Liverpool Waters site stretches for more than 2km along the famous Mersey river.
The docklands area is transforming into a mixed-use waterfront quarter that will boost jobs, the economy and the reputation of Liverpool as a thriving city with much to offer. There will be 315,000 sq m of new office space, 53,000 sq m of conference and hotel facilities, a new terminal for cruise liners and new housing developments.
More than seven million people live in Liverpool and easily commutable areas, making it a city of commerce, culture and play. And, since it was named EUroepan City of Culture in 2008, Liverpool has increased its economic output by almost 40%.
Projects including Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQL) are focusing on boosting the credentials of a raft of innovative and forward-thinking business sectors. These range from science and health and technology to culture and education. In a £1 billion project, new developments are underway for KQL, primarily in the Paddington Village area.
A growing population
Liverpool’s population in the city currently stands at 494,800 according to the latest authority figures. Across the wider region of Liverpool and nearby boroughs there are 1,551,400 people.
And every year the city welcomes around 839,000 foreign visitors as its tourism sector continues to grow. Between 2016 and 2017, the figure went from 671,000 to 839,000 as Liverpool became the fourth most visited city in the UK.
A culturally rich city, both in terms of its long music heritage and artistic sector, Liverpool is also a major retail and commercial hub. The Liverpool One retail complex is thriving, along with restaurants, theatres, music venues and nightlife.
Transforming urban accommodation for students and professionals
For many, Liverpool is known as a student city, thanks to its two extremely popular and well ranked universities. Both the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University attract a combined total of 50,000 students to the city every year.
And, according to the Liverpool Echo, around 34,000 of these are looking for suitable accommodation. While many student property new build developments and conversions are in specific areas, such as Childwall and Edge Hill, there are also a number of outstanding properties springing up in the city centre.
Vincent House is one such luxury development, with 62 units in the centre of the coveted L1 postcode. It offers urban living accommodation for students and young professionals, and excellent opportunities to property investors. A fully serviced block in a vibrant, buzzing and well-loved location, it’s the type of development project that is transforming Liverpool.
Best value property and the highest yields
Property is cheaper in Liverpool than in many other major UK cities. According to Hometrack, the average price for a house in Liverpool stands at £125,400. This is up a whopping 5.8% on the price 12 months before. And prices are still rising, with a report in the Guardian saying that Liverpool is one of the most promising cities for house price growth in the country.
Low prices and high yields make Liverpool an amazing city for property investors looking for solid investments in a city that will continue to grow in popularity. Liverpool’s long-term transformation is laid out until 2033 by the local authorities in the Liverpool Local Plan.
