There’s no denying that recent tax changes have made the buy-to-let market less attractive for investors. Yet it’s still a tempting option with the potential for excellent financial returns. Donna McCreadie, partner and property specialist at Perrys Chartered Accountants, looks at the current landscape and explains why buy-to-let is still a viable investment.

Based on a typical home in the UK.

New analysis carried out by Knight Frank has highlighted the areas which have seen the biggest increase in the value of their housing stock over the course of the pandemic, with the top three largest rises over the period all found in north-west England: namely Rossendale (24.2%), the Wirral (21.6%) and Liverpool (21.6%).

The Bank of England (BoE) has held its base rate at 0.1% despite expectations that there could have been a rise.

The average price of purchasing a home rose by 0.7% in October taking the average price of a property past the £250,000 mark for the first time ever, according to the latest house price figures from Nationwide.

Business consultancy Hargreaves Lansdown is predicting house prices will still rise, even after a possible hike in interest rates later this year or early next.

Rightmove is warning that it’s “highly likely” interest rates will rise in the near future.

Research by Share to Buy has revealed the top locations to buy houses, with the biggest increase in property value over the last decade.