Why invest in property in Southampton?

Southampton is a great city to live in, study in and invest in. Select one of the links to see what Southampton has to interest you in particular.

Southampton has a lot to recommend it for property investors, as it contains many of the urban features that attract regular streams of prospective tenants. These include teaching hospitals, research centres, universities and colleges, successful local enterprises and UK branches of multinational businesses.

Tenant market

As the principal city in central southern England, Southampton is a key urban area. It is also one of the fastest growing, with a large and expanding population of immigrant workers. There are more than 30,000 students residing in the city, with nearly half of these in privately owned properties - making studio flats and large houses for multiple occupancy a popular choice with local landlords. There are also many nurses in the city needing accommodation within easy reach of the hospitals.

Transport links

The region has excellent transport links with local motorways connecting the coastal towns with the heart of London, a far-ranging rail infrastructure and an extensive network of local buses.

Long term prospects

Looking long term, the South East Plan published by SEERA (the South East England Regional Assembly) identifies Southampton and Portsmouth as priority areas for investment and development.

Key actions detailed in the Plan include giving more land over to offices, warehousing and manufacturing, and improving the transport links throughout the region. This suggests that while many new jobs will be located in the urban centres, employees may be more willing to commute from nearby areas, an encouraging prospect for those with out-of-town properties to rent. The Plan also highlights the need for around 80,000 new homes in the South Hampshire area by 2026. Accommodation is therefore a key requirement in the region, so landlords with highly rentable properties in the right locations should be confident that the risk of lengthy void periods is quite low.

As seen on TV

In 2006, Southampton's investment appeal was highlighted when presenters of the Channel 4 programme Location, Location, Location placed the city at No. 5 in their Top 10 Places to Invest in the UK. Their research showed that the population was predicted to remain fairly stable for the next decade, with a growing number of people in the 20-34 age band (which covers the majority of renters). Rental income was shown to be steady. Shirley, Freemantle, St. Mary's and Hill Lane were all identified as investment hotspots, and the Portswood & Polygon areas in particular for those wishing to supply the buoyant student market.