Southampton gets buy 2 let plug in the Sunday Times

It may not be the smartest spot on the south coast, but with a £3bn injection of cash on the way, Southampton is an increasingly attractive port of call, especially for buy-to-let investors. All ashore

Glamorous, affluent, stylish: they’re not words usually picked to describe Southampton, better known for fervent Saints fans and as a departure point for velour-bottomed Caribbean cruisers. But with a master plan to transform the Hampshire city’s fabric — and fortunes — well under way, it is already being marked out as the next investment hotspot, and even seems poised to score some surprising wins over its more obviously attractive neighbours on the south coast.

Admittedly, it lacks the chic bohemian vibe of Brighton, the millionaire boatie milieu of Poole (and its hefty mooring fees) or the well-preserved period architecture of Winchester — but, like its football team, which to general amazement is riding high in the Premier League, it has potential by the bucketload. The council is planning to bring more than 24,000 new jobs, 5,000 homes and £3bn worth of investment into the city by 2030.....

It's a no- brainer, then, that Southampton has shot up the league table of the best places in Britain to invest in property. Data prepared exclusively for the The Sunday Times by the property consultants Hometrack shows why it is so popular with Landlords in particular: the average price of a flat is £125,800 compared with £181,600 accross southeast England; and the average gross yield is 5.9% against 5% in the wider region.....

HSBC is even more bullish. In a seperate survey, the bank claims Southampton is England's top buy-to-let spot, with a typical rental yield, recorder last summer , of 8.73%. And the online property portal Rightmove says the city will see capital values jump by 43% in the next 5 years - the largest rise in England...

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http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/homes_and_gardens/Move/article1514085.ece