A landlord in the UK is two-thirds more likely to buy a new rental property in the north of England today, compared to 20 years ago, according to recent analysis by Hamptons.

The estate agent reported in May this year that buy-to-let continues to thrive in the north of England and a record 39% of buy-to-lets bought so far this year were in the Midlands or North of England, up from 34% in 2022 and 24% in 2007 when its records began.

However, while the focus of buy-to-let investors is clearly moving northwards, overall new buy-to-let investment fell to levels not seen since 2007, according to Hamptons. It revealed investors purchased 10% of homes sold across Britain in the first four months of 2025, down from 11% last year and a high of 16% in 2015.

Buy-to-let purchases have declined in every UK region, bar one, since 2015, just before the 3% stamp duty surcharge was introduced. This surcharge was further increased to 5% by the Government last October. This means a £200,000 buy-to-let investment now commands £11,500 in stamp duty, while a £400,000 home costs £30,000 in stamp duty.

The North East is the only area to buck that trend with landlords buying 28% of all homes sold this year, mainly due to lower purchase costs and therefore lower stamp duty payments.

Every report that comes out lists different “hot spots” for BTL investors, but the overall message is unified…they are very rarely in the south of England. According to Hamptons, nine of the 10 buy-to-let hotspots since the stamp duty surcharge increased last October are in the Midlands or North of England.

Redcar and Cleveland top the list, where investors purchased 50% of homes sold. Here, the typical landlord spent £70,300 on their new buy-to-let, paying just £3,515 in stamp duty. Eight of the 10 local authorities on the hotspot list offered gross rental yields above the England and Wales average of 7.1%, with many nearing double-digits.