Manchester has been named as the highest-ranking city in England for residential investment, according to Colliers’ latest edition of its UK’s Top UK Residential Investment Cities report.

Manchester scored third overall in the UK ranking, behind Scottish cities Edinburgh (first) and Glasgow (second), which remained steadfast in their position since the previous iteration of the report in H2 2023. 

The biannual report analyses 20 locations within the UK against 24 indicators, including GDP, population growth, EPC rankings and leisure facilities. These indicators are grouped into five categories: economy, research and development, liveability, property and sustainability, to cover the various interests of residential investors. 

Manchester’s new position as the top English city is a result of its strong economic performance, as well as favourable property factors. The city has had a record house price growth of 33% during the last five years, far outstripping the report’s 20-city average of 15%. 

The city is also predicted to have a strong GDP growth at an annual rate of 2.2% during the next five years, which is also above the 20-city average of 1.8%, while the unemployment rate is forecast to average 3.7% during the same period. 

In addition, Manchester’s population is projected to increase by 1.14% per annum over the next 10 years and boasts the second highest student population in Colliers’ analysis, behind London. It also had a significant proportion of residents who live in rented accommodation. Colliers believes a further strong indicator for investment in the city is the number of entrepreneurs living in the city who are starting up new businesses.

Oliver Kolodseike, from Colliers’ Research & Economics department, compiled the analysis. He said: “While the top two cities have remained static in our latest analysis, there’s been plenty of movement across the top ten cities, mainly due to changes in GDP predictions and house price growth, as well as updated data on business start-ups.

“Due to our analysis looking at a variety of indicators which are central to the residential property market, we can tailor the insights based on investors’ core drivers, whether that’s economics, housing factors or indicators which are essential for residents.”