Newcastle upon Tyne has been named Britain's strongest property investment location heading into 2027, ahead of Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester, in a new index assessing 30 major cities and regions across England, Wales and Scotland.
The Beyond Stays Group Property Investor Index 2026/27 scored each location against eight weighted measures: rental yield, property prices, rental growth, rental market tightness, population and employment growth, house-price momentum, and regeneration and infrastructure delivery.
Newcastle topped the ranking with an overall score of 79.47 out of 100. Glasgow placed second on 73.91, Liverpool third on 73.13, and Manchester fourth on 71.85.
Britain's top 10 property investment locations
1 Newcastle upon Tyne - 79.47
2 Glasgow - 73.91
3 Liverpool - 73.13
4 Manchester - 71.85
5 Hull - 67.60
6 Stoke-on-Trent - 64.84
7 Bristol - 60.80
8 Sheffield - 58.96
9 Birmingham - 58.23
10 Coventry - 58.09
Newcastle's result was built on consistent performance across multiple measures rather than one standout figure. Average rents grew 9.9% over the year, the fastest of any location in the study, and the city also recorded the tightest rental market analysed: unlet properties had a median listing time of just 38 days. Its indicative gross rental yield stood at 6.99%, with five-year population growth of 7.92% and positive recent house-price momentum adding further weight to its score.
Glasgow took second place on the strength of the highest indicative gross rental yield in the study, at 8.03%. Liverpool's third-place finish reflected a combination of accessible property prices, solid rental growth and broader market fundamentals. Manchester ranked fourth despite carrying a higher average property price than the top three, supported by 8.01% five-year population growth, a 6.59% indicative gross rental yield and a maximum regeneration and infrastructure delivery score of 10 out of 10.
The index also illustrates how single-metric rankings can mislead. Aberdeen recorded the second-highest indicative gross rental yield in the study at 7.57%, yet ranked only 19th overall once weaker employment growth and recent house-price momentum were factored in. Exeter posted the strongest five-year population growth of any location at 9.57% but finished 26th, held back by high acquisition costs, negative house-price momentum and a slower rental market.
Greater London ranked 28th out of 30 despite receiving the maximum regeneration and infrastructure score and recording the highest average monthly rent of all locations analysed. An average property price of £544,814, negative recent house-price momentum and comparatively slower population growth weighed on its overall result.
Hull presented one of the study's more striking affordability cases. The city had the lowest average property price of any location at £133,485 and still finished fifth overall, combining a 6.20% indicative gross rental yield with 7.2% rental growth and positive house-price momentum.
"Every few months another table comes out telling landlords where to buy, and almost all of them rank on one number," said Matt Thompson, founder of Beyond Stays Group.
"That's not how you build a portfolio you can hold for ten years. We built this index specifically to be harder to win, because the cities that top a single measure are very often the ones you'd regret buying into. Newcastle didn't win by leading everything: it won by not being weak anywhere that matters."
