City named North’s top property hotspot

INVESTORS ARE being urged to look again at Leeds after the city was named the North’s numberone property hot spot for 2018.

The city is being tipped for further renewed success in a new guide published by investment firm Aspen Woolf.

It says the market in Leeds is benefiting from the city’s strong and continuing economic growth and university populations (having the fourth-largest student population in the UK) and will continue to attract interest from private, commercial and student renters this year.

Among new developments in the city are the Southbank and Kirkstall Forge sites.

Other developments include work by Vita Leeds 2, part of the Select Property Group, which has acquired the Woodhouse Lane site and will see the original 14-storey shell increased to 16 floors to cater for 312 student studio apartments.

Leeds’s growth has been helped by the success of the wider West Yorkshire region. The regional economy has expanded by 40 per cent over the last decade and is now worth £50bn a year.

Aspen Woolf’s CEO Oliver Ramsden said: “The value of property in the city is undeniable. Leeds sees strong demand for high-quality and luxury accommodation for both professionals and students.

“Our own developments, including The Pavilion and Trinity Hall, are delivering rental yields of eight per cent.”