Student demand boosts property values - buy to let mortgages

06 October 2008

In buy to let mortgages news, it has emerged that demand for student accommodation has boosted property values in university towns over the last few years.

Manchester, which has the largest student population in the UK at 73,160, recorded an average house price growth of 63 per cent over the past five years, according to research from Halifax.

Liverpool, with a student population of 53,705, experienced growth of 71 per cent during this period.

On average, students pay around £96 a week in rent, the report found. London had the most expensive rents at £116 per week while the lowest were in Northern Ireland, with an average of £64.

Chief economist Martin Ellis commented that buying a property in a university town "can be a good investment".

Meanwhile, the National Landlords Association recently dismissed claims in the media that the buy to let sector had "come off the rails", citing the growing student population as one reason to invest in rental property.