Liverpool is one of the most popular and well-known cities in the UK. Famous around the world for its culture and heritage, Liverpool has, in recent years, became one of the prime spots for investment not just in the UK, but the entire world.
Throughout the last couple of decades, especially since its year as the European Capital of Culture in 2008, the city has been completely transformed thanks to significant public and private investment that is set to continue long into the future. Liverpool is currently in the midst of a 10-year, £14bn regeneration led renaissance – with locations such as the iconic waterfront and new creative districts being completely reimagined. This regeneration plan will enhance to already appetising investment prospects in the city, in particular in the buy to let market!
UK property market
The buy to let market in general is flourishing as we continue into 2021. More people than ever are renting, and the government are consistently struggling to meet their housebuilding target year after year, resulting in an extremely prosperous property market for buy to let investors.
Annual house price growth ended the year at a six-year high in December according to Nationwide. Prices rose by 0.8% month-on-month, resulting in a cumulative growth of an incredible 7.3% throughout the year. A number of Northern regions saw house price growth above that of the national average – an extremely impressive feat considering the record-breaking average of the last year. In the North West, annual house price increased to a massive 8.0%, and one region that played a huge part in particular was Liverpool.
Liverpool property market
Liverpool has been one of the most buoyant property markets for a number of years now and looks set for an equally impressive future. In the last five years, house prices in Liverpool have increased by 21.16% (according to Zoopla), and JLL have anticipated that this growth will only continue.
In their Northern England Forecast, JLL predicted that both average house price growth and rental increase are set to increase up until 2024 thanks to the robust economic and population growth in the area. House prices are expected to grow by 13.1% in the period up to 2024, whilst rents are set to see an even greater increase at 14.8%.
The impressive outlook for the Liverpool property market is only going to be enhanced by the large number of regeneration projects coming to the city in the next 12 months and beyond.
Regeneration
In the next five years, the city will deliver 10,000 new homes, a new cruise terminal, a new TV and film hub, Everton FC’s new football stadium, as well £250m worth of road infrastructure and 2 million sq ft of commercial office space.
2021 in particular is set to see the introduction of a host of new ventures in the city centre as numerous developments complete. One of the most exciting of these projects includes the Pall Mall development of offices and a hotel. The development will bring a mix of office space, a café, a restaurant, and a new Pall Mall gardens for people to sit out in.
In addition to the Pall Mall development, Liverpool is set to start working on a year-long £9m upgrade of Lime Street to make it more pedestrian and cyclist friendly. Pavements are set to be widened and a new cycle line will be introduced to offer a boulevard feel, only enhancing the city centre’s appeal to those looking to live there.
Beyond both the Pall Mall and Lime Street regeneration projects, work is set to start on the Canning Dock/Museums development. A key component on the aforementioned 10-year masterplan, the project is set to re-develop the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building at the Albert Dock, creating yet another landmark in the form of a new entrance to the city’s International Slavery Museum.
The once Capital of Culture may no longer hold that crown, but its cultural significance around the world has by no mean lessened – in fact you could argue that it is greater than ever. The future is looking extremely bright for Liverpool and offers a fantastic investment location for those looking to purchase buy-to-let property.
