Belfast climbs in Colliers’ Top UK Residential Investment Cities report

Positive economic forecasts and strong property credentials push Belfast into fourth in latest ranking

Northern Ireland’s capital city has continued to climb in commercial real estate firm Colliers’ Top UK Residential Investment Cities report, moving from fifth to fourth place in the latest publication.

The city, which ranked seventh in the inaugural report in H1 2021, performs well across property, liveability and economic measures. Colliers’ Top UK Residential Investment Cities report examines 20 cities across 25 indicators, which can be tailored towards investors’ needs. This latest edition features five new indicators within an environmental pillar which includes EPC ratings, CO2 emissions, woodland coverage, recycling rate, EV uptake and charging points.

The latest top ten ranking stands at:

Edinburgh (no change)

Cambridge (no change)

London (no change)

Belfast (up one)

Manchester (up one)

Milton Keynes (up three)

Glasgow (up one)

Oxford (down four)

Bristol (down two)

Cardiff (up four)

Jonathan Millar, managing director of Colliers Belfast said: “Belfast’s residential market is going from strength to strength. The city benefits from strong rental yields, favourable economic forecasts, and exceptional broadband coverage. There are many reasons drawing people towards Belfast, such as a high number of leisure facilities and affordable housing. In recent years many have returned from London and the UK cities because they can get the best of both worlds here: a bustling city as well as decent pay and housing.”

Within the new environmental pillar Belfast ranked 12th out of the 20 cities analysed. Despite having the fourth highest recycling rate, and good scores for properties with an EPC rating of C or above, the city has only a small area of land covered by woodland, and is one of the lowest cities for electric vehicles uptake and installation of EV charging network.

Oliver Kolodseike, head of economic research at Colliers, added: “Given the growing importance of ESG considerations in decision-making, we have added a new environmental pillar to our analysis, thereby presenting a more holistic view when it comes to choosing a city to live in, invest in or move to. The report will help developers, occupiers and investors alike to identify potential target cities based on an array of different factors that can be tailored towards individual needs.”