Buy-to-let landlord interest falls in most UK cities, research shows
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Buy-to-let landlord interest falls in most UK cities, research shows

By Dr. Priya Sharma, Property Markets Analyst · 7 July 2026 · 1 min read

Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Strategy. Read the original article for full details.

Buy-to-let landlord interest falls in most UK cities, research shows

Interest in becoming a buy-to-let landlord has declined across almost every major UK city over the past year, according to a study by Emoov. Cambridge was the only city to see an increase in searches for buy-to-let, with a 23.5% year-on-year rise.

The research found that, apart from Cambridge, all other locations analysed experienced a drop in demand. Plymouth saw the smallest decrease after Cambridge, with a 2.9% fall in searches. Poole and Southampton also remained relatively stable, with declines of 5.3% and 5.7% respectively. Most other cities saw more significant drops.

The data shows that Birmingham experienced a 33.3% decline in interest, while London saw a 41.7% fall. Carlisle recorded the largest decrease, with a 59.1% drop in searches for buy-to-let landlords.

Other cities with notable declines include Blackpool (-33.2%), Wakefield (-30.3%), Nottingham (-28.2%), Milton Keynes (-27.9%), Canterbury (-27.5%), Ripon (-26.8%), and Colchester (-25.7%).

These findings highlight a nationwide trend of falling interest in buy-to-let investment, with only a few cities bucking the trend. This shift may be relevant for UK letting agents and inventory clerks monitoring changes in landlord activity and market demand.


Source: Mortgage Strategy
About the author
Dr. Priya Sharma
Property Markets Analyst

Dr. Priya Sharma writes The Property AI's data-led coverage of UK property markets — rental indices, sold-price trends, mortgage flows, and regional analysis. Articles bylined Dr. Sharma cite ONS, Land Registry, Bank of England, and primary research data.

PhD Economics. Specialises in: ONS Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, Land Registry data, regional rental analysis, mortgage approvals trends.

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