UK Property: The Areas Quietly Outperforming

Good morning,

Some UK areas are about to outperform everything else over the next 5 years.

The frustrating part?

Most investors won’t touch them because they’re looking in the wrong places.

Let’s dive in.

In this newsletter, you'll find...

• The UK's Best & Worst Investment Areas: A No-Fluff Breakdown

• The One to Avoid (Even Though It Looks Tempting)

• The Takeaway

• Feedback

The UK's Best & Worst Investment Areas: A No-Fluff Breakdown

Right, let's talk about something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

I was watching a recent episode of The Property Podcast — "Every UK Area Ranked Best to Worst for Investment" — and honestly, some of it confirmed what the data's been telling us for a while.

But a few bits genuinely surprised me. So I thought, let's break it down properly.

The Two Regions You Should Be All Over

If you only remember two things from this newsletter, make it these.

North West — still the king. Savills are projecting 31.2% capital growth by 2029 for this region, that's the highest forecast of anywhere in the UK.

Manchester's doing what Manchester does. But the smarter play right now is looking at the ripple effect — Salford, Preston, Rochdale. Where Manchester goes, the surrounding areas follow, and you can still get in at prices that make the numbers work.

Northern Ireland — the one people aren't talking about enough. Annual growth running at around 5× the UK average in some pockets.

Average prices sitting around £185k. Derry clocking 13% year-on-year growth. The yields in places like Belfast are regularly hitting 6–9%+.

Yes, it's a different legal system. Yes, you can't just drive there on a Saturday morning. But if you've got a good letting agent on the ground, the numbers are hard to argue with.

Derby — The Quiet One at the Back of the Room

You know when someone's been sitting quietly in the corner and then absolutely nails a presentation? That's Derby right now.

The average house price in Derby in February 2026 was £202,000, compared to the UK average of £268,000.

The average rent? £847 a month as of March 2026, up 2.5% year-on-year. That's a terraced house at £162,000 generating nearly £850/month. Do the maths.

But here's the kicker: Derby has the 6th highest wages nationally relative to its house prices.

That means you've got a city full of people who earn decent money but live in an area where property is still genuinely affordable.

The affordability ratio sits at just 5.3× median salary, well below London's stretch. Local forecasts are calling 6% price growth between 2025–2026 alone, versus 2% for the UK overall.

The Derby City Centre Masterplan 2030 is pumping regeneration investment in on top of that.

This is the kind of city that gets you solid cashflow and capital growth. Not flashy. Just effective.

Wales — A Yield Story Most People Are Sleeping On

Paragon data puts the average yield in Wales at 8.83%. That's not a typo. Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, all still affordable relative to English cities and still offering the kind of returns that make your mortgage broker sit up straight.

What makes Wales interesting right now is the regulatory environment. While England's Renters' Rights Bill shakes things up, Wales still has fixed-term contracts and no rent controls.

The Renting Homes (Wales) Act gives landlords a cleaner, simpler framework. It's not perfect, EPC requirements are tightening and you need to stay on top of compliance but compared to Scotland (more on that below), Wales is landlord-friendly territory.

The One to Avoid (Even Though It Looks Tempting)

Scotland. On paper? The yields and forecasts look great.

In practice? Rent controls, an Additional Dwelling Supplement (Scotland's version of stamp duty on second homes) that stings, and institutional landlords actively pulling out of the market.

When the big funds are leaving, that tells you something.

The Takeaway

The data keeps pointing in the same direction: Midlands, North West, and those overlooked cities with strong wage-to-price ratios.

Derby, Nottingham, Halifax cities that don't make the newspaper headlines but consistently show up when you run the numbers.