Scottish cities the ticket for buy-to-let landlords

Buy-to-let landlords looking to make decent returns on student properties might want to consider Scotland, with Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling coming out top of a hotspots list.

Real estate website Zoopla analysed rental data for four- bedroom homes – the type of property students may be sharing – in 127 university towns and cities across the UK in September. It identified the best and worst-performing locations by the average gross rental yield that landlords might expect to get.

Edinburgh came out top, with landlords expected to see a yield of around 6.59 per cent.

Glasgow (6.49 per cent) and Stirling (5.76 per cent) rounded out the top three.

Dundee placed sixth (5.5 per cent) on the list, while Aberdeen (5.06 per cent) achieved the tenth highest yield.

At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest rental yields were found around the London commuter belt, with Kingston upon Thames, Hat- field and High Wycombe coming bottom of the list. Landlords in these areas often face higher house prices, squeezing their potential returns.

Zoopla spokesman Lawrence Hall said: “Parents keen to help their children through the high costs of university may consider the value of buying a property in a student town.”