Six property hotspots in and around Manchester revealed

The city of Manchester and the surrounding areas are a prime target for property investors looking for top capital appreciation and rental opportunities.

The North West of England has been one of the strongest performing regions over the past few years when it comes to its housing market, led by the likes of Manchester and Liverpool along with the surrounding commuter towns and areas.

This has been exacerbated by more recent market conditions, with buyers continuing to not only get better value for money in the North, but seeing more capital appreciation over the medium and long term than many parts of the South of England. This means investors can avoid borrowing larger sums of money, which is particularly beneficial when mortgage rates are higher.

Manchester has been named one of the best places to be a landlord in the UK, while also being marked out as having seen some of the greatest property price growth. Rental yields are another factor attracting many investors to the housing market in and around Manchester.

Yet while prices may have risen the most across many parts of the North West, ongoing regeneration and investment improving many areas, including city and town centres, means the growth is far from over, and investors continue to seek deals in and around Manchester in order to capitalise on this.

Where are Manchester’s property hotspots?

Using Land Registry data of sold house prices, Yahoo News has pulled together a list of the six top-performing property markets in Greater Manchester, where prices are rising the most.

1. M2: This postcode covering Deansgate and parts of the city centre has experienced a huge 22.4% price rise since last year, according to the data, with an average hike of a huge £59,100, driven by soaring demand. The average price now is £323,500, compared with £264,400 a year ago.
2. M32: This is the location of Stretford, a market town in the Trafford area, where property prices have surged by 16.1% (£42,837) since 12 months ago. A home there now will cost buyers an average of £308,919, up from £266,082.
3. M7: With a price rise of a huge 15.9% since last year, this postcode covering Higher Broughton, Cheetwood, Lower Broughton and Kersal has also seen property demand rise by well above the national average. The average property cost has climbed from £259,767 to £301,057.
4. M22: While properties in this part of Manchester can still be bought for less than £300,000, this area covering Wythenshawe and Northenden has also seen a whopping price rise of 12.2% over the past 12 months, up from £225,572 a year ago to £253,030.
5. M45: This is the postcode for Whitefield, a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, where property prices have increased by 10.9% since this time last year – where owners have made an average capital appreciation of £29,679 over the past 12 months. Properties there now cost an average of £301,547, up from £271,868.
6. M30: Another out of town location, M30 covers the market town of Eccles, in the City of Salford to the west of Manchester. In this property hotspot, prices have climbed by 8.6% (£20,423) over the past year, taking them from an average of £238,055 to £258,478.

A top business destination

While the above six postcodes show the areas that have experienced the greatest price rises over the past 12 months, there are many other parts of Greater Manchester that are set to deliver major growth over the coming years.

Investors considering the North West should therefore assess each area in terms of any upcoming improvements or changes set to benefit residents there, such as transport and infrastructure spending, as these are factors that can influence price rises in the future, among other things.

In recent months, Manchester has been named as the top business destination outside London, while it is also the city to have seen the greatest overall house price rises over the past year.