State of buy-to-let · 2025
Buy-to-let in 2025: what the official figures say about 316 areas
Prices, rents and rental yields for every local authority in England and Wales, from January to December 2025.
Key findings
- Average rents in the typical area were 6.8% higher in 2025 than in 2024, about three times the rise in prices (2.3%).
- The typical gross yield rose to 4.3%, from 4.1% the year before. Yields rose in every region.
- The North East had the highest typical yield (5.2%) and the South West the lowest (4.0%).
- Prices grew fastest in the North East (+4.4%) and slowest in the South West (+0.6%).
- Of 316 areas, Newcastle upon Tyne had the highest gross yield (6.6%) and Oldham the fastest price growth (+9.9%).
The year in three numbers
The top ten
Highest gross yields
- 1Newcastle upon Tyne North East 6.6%
- 2Portsmouth South East 6.4%
- 3Manchester North West 6.4%
- 4Southampton South East 6.2%
- 5Blackpool North West 6.1%
- 6Bristol, City of South West 6.1%
- 7Merthyr Tydfil Wales 6.1%
- 8Nottingham East Midlands 6.1%
- 9Gateshead North East 6.1%
- 10Kingston upon Hull, City of Yorkshire and The Humber 6.0%
Fastest price growth
- 1Oldham North West +9.9%
- 2Blackburn with Darwen North West +9.8%
- 3Melton East Midlands +9.2%
- 4Burnley North West +7.8%
- 5Liverpool North West +7.6%
- 6Halton North West +7.5%
- 7Salford North West +6.7%
- 8Rochdale North West +6.7%
- 9Wrexham Wales +6.6%
- 10Cannock Chase West Midlands +6.3%
Fastest rent growth
- 1Newport Wales +18.4%
- 2Broxbourne East of England +13.8%
- 3Nuneaton and Bedworth West Midlands +13.3%
- 4Barking and Dagenham London +12.2%
- 5Slough South East +12.2%
- 6Rossendale North West +11.9%
- 7West Lancashire North West +11.7%
- 8Rhondda Cynon Taf Wales +11.6%
- 9Newcastle upon Tyne North East +11.4%
- 10Tameside North West +10.9%
The year's movers
Gross yield this year against the year before.
Yields rose most
- Newport Wales 4.40% to 5.03% +0.6 pts
- Norwich East of England 5.39% to 5.98% +0.6 pts
- Newham London 4.78% to 5.37% +0.6 pts
- Harlow East of England 5.10% to 5.67% +0.6 pts
- Gloucester South West 4.87% to 5.38% +0.5 pts
Yields fell most
- Leeds Yorkshire and The Humber 5.68% to 5.53% −0.2 pts
- Oldham North West 4.94% to 4.80% −0.1 pts
- Hartlepool North East 5.27% to 5.14% −0.1 pts
- Kirklees Yorkshire and The Humber 4.32% to 4.19% −0.1 pts
- Derbyshire Dales East Midlands 2.81% to 2.69% −0.1 pts
Yields by region
| Region | Gross yield | A year before | Prices | Rents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 5.2% | 5.2% | +4.4% | +8.8% |
| North West | 4.7% | 4.5% | +4.1% | +8.2% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4.7% | 4.6% | +3.5% | +5.4% |
| West Midlands | 4.3% | 4.2% | +2.8% | +6.1% |
| Wales | 4.3% | 4.2% | +2.6% | +6.8% |
| South East | 4.2% | 4.0% | +1.8% | +5.9% |
| London | 4.2% | 3.9% | +1.4% | +7.4% |
| East Midlands | 4.1% | 4.0% | +2.9% | +7.1% |
| East of England | 4.1% | 3.9% | +1.6% | +7.1% |
| South West | 4.0% | 3.7% | +0.6% | +5.6% |
The typical (median) area in each region. Prices and rents are the year's averages on the year before's.
Using these figures
You're welcome to quote them. Please credit NestInsights, State of buy-to-let 2025 and link to this page. Every area's latest figures are also free to download as open data.
How it's worked out
Every figure is an average over the calendar year, January to December, to smooth out months with few sales. Growth compares the year's average with the year before's. Gross yield is the year's rent as a share of its average price. "A year before" is the same figure for the year before. Land Registry keeps adding late sales, so the last few months can still move a little after this is published.
Only areas with all the headline figures and at least 200 sales a year are included, so a handful of sales can't top a list. "What stood out" is picked by plain statistics: how far each figure is from the typical area. Nothing here is a forecast.
The ONS rent figures are smoothed, so they change gradually. They show the direction of rents better than a single month's change.
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About these figures
Updated with July 2026 data on 10 October 2026. Prices come from the UK House Price Index, rents from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents. The newest months are provisional and can be revised. Figures are for information only and are not financial advice. Every area's figures are free to download.
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.
Postcodes are matched to areas with the ONS postcode lookup. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026.