Preston Buy-to-Let Guide

Property prices are generally generally more affordable in the North West than other parts of the UK, especially the South. The price tag of a property in Preston is even lower again, offering some of the cheapest prices in the North West.

According to Rightmove, Preston properties had an overall average price of £168,132 over the last year. This is 2% down on the previous year and 7% up on 2020. This is much lower than the UK average of £261,500 calculated by Zoopa for the July 2023 UK House Price Index.

Growth has stalled somewhat this year, but property price forecasts point to rising capital growth in the future across the UK market, making now a good time to invest.

Stuck on whether property is still a good investment in 2024? Take a look at the market overview below to learn more! Or check out our property investment tips!

The area around Preston City Centre includes districts like Plungington, popular with students who want easy access to the university campus. It also has attractive areas around Avenham Park and inner-city suburbs like Deepdale.

East Preston includes suburbs like Ribbleton, which is both a residential and commercial area. In the west, you can find areas like Ashton-on-Ribble. North Preston has Fulwood, and property gets more pricey as you reach the towns further from the City Centre.

Average Property Prices in Ashton-on-Ribble

The average property price in this area is £148,365. 

Average Rental Yield in Ashton-on-Ribble

The average rental yield in this area is 6.05%.

Average Property Prices in Fulwood

The average house price in this area is £205,247.

Average Rental Yield in Fulwood

The average rental yield in this area is 5.1%.

(Averages house prices taken from Zoopla, rental yield estimate calculated with figures from home.co.uk, housesforsaletorent.co.uk)

Student Population

Preston is known as a thriving student city. The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is one of the largest universities in the North West, and it has become a major source of economic growth for the city through employment, housing, and retail.

The 40,000-strong student population is estimated to make up over a quarter of all Preston inhabitants, making it a primary driver of Preston’s private rental market. Although targeting students has some downsides, such as frequently changing tenants, it is one way to ensure consistent rental demand for your buy-to-let property.

Student properties can also command a higher rental yield than the average property. In 2021, Preston was named 9th on a list of top 10 university locations with the best yields, giving as high as 8.01%.

Learn more about the best student property investments in our updated guide!

Regeneration

Often overshadowed by the neighbouring cities of Liverpool and Manchester, Preston is ambitious about being known as the North West’s third city. The amount of regeneration projects that have been recently completed or are currently ongoing is proof of this aspirational spirit. 

The Harris Quarter Towns Fund Investment Programme is a £200 million transformational project set for completion in 2026. Focused on Preston’s Harris Quarter, it will revitalise the city’s cultural and leisure infrastructure with six individual projects.

According to the UCLan Masterplan, the University of Central Lancashire has also been finishing up its own regeneration projects in recent years. In Summer 2021, a new student centre with an adjacent public square revamped the campus area for students and the local community.

The area around Preston railway station is set to be upgraded, too, with an ambitious redevelopment plan on the cards. At the same time, the Stoneygate Masterplan will revitalise the suburbs close to the city centre by Avenham Park.

Learn more about sustainability and investment with RWinvest’s Manchester Regeneration 2024 guide.

Connectivity and Location

A big part of Preston’s draw for renters is its location. Residents of Preston can drive or hop on the train and make it to Liverpool or Manchester in under an hour. It’s also convenient for visits to Blackpool and the Lake District.

Preston is ideally located for travel by road as it sits on four significant motorways – M6, M61, M65 and M55. It’s easy to see why the area is home to many freight and haulage companies. The Preston Western Distributor Road scheme also finished this year, creating three new roads to ease congestion on the motorway network around Preston.

Preston’s railway and bus network also offers good access to surrounding towns and cities. The city’s public transport links have proposed upgrades on the cards, such as a possible new train station called Cottam Parkway to be built on the north-west side of Preston.

These transport-based schemes and projects will help make Preston an attractive place for renters and improve its image as a convenient hometown for commuters to nearby towns and cities. Why not also take a look at the RWinvest properties available in our Stockport buy-to-let guide.

New builds are typically more expensive than older properties, with strategies like off-plan investment rising in popularity as a way to acquire newly built properties at a reasonable price.

To find the best possible off-plan property deal, it’s worth widening the search beyond Preston and looking at the region as a whole. The North West has been identified as a promising location for buy-to-let investments moving forward, so it is a popular area for off-plan developments. For example, investors could look at off-plan property in Warrington and other smaller regional towns.

However, off-plan investment opportunities in the North West are most likely found in major cities like Liverpool and Manchester. These are particularly popular areas for developers wanting to take advantage of the high demand in big Northern cities.