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North-west property investment sparkles

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London once dominated the property investment industry in the UK, with house price growth comfortably outperforming anything in the north.

But the situation has been quite different in recent years, with investors increasingly making the most of opportunities throughout the north of England, thanks to exceptional capital appreciation and a strong buy-to-let market.

With Liverpool preparing for its role as the European Capital of Culture in 2008, the property market in the north-west has been particularly vibrant in the last few months, as investors look to capitalise on the increased profile of the region.

It is a situation that was also boosted in 2002, when Manchester impressed with the Commonwealth Games, while both cities have benefited from extensive regeneration in the last ten years.

The Land Registry released a report on house prices in the north-west in May and the figures confirmed the fact that the region has emerged as one of the country's top property investment hotspots. It was revealed that house prices had increased by 7.63 per cent in the north-west from the year before, which confirms favourably to a number of other locations in the UK, particularly given the strong rental demand in the area.

It certainly seems that excitement about property investment in the region is building, with the likes of Blackpool also beginning to show great promise.

According to a report in Blackpool Today, investors are already gambling on the city's casino ambitions, with a decision set to be made on the issue next year. Blackpool has long been known as the Las Vegas of the North, but it is a description that has often, in the past, been used with no shortage of playful deprecation.

But it is reported that one Greater Manchester firm has now bought more than 100 flats around the breach with a view to capitalising on an expected accommodation boom if the casino plan is approved.

The report in Blackpool Today suggests that visitors numbers are down in Blackpool, with tourism struggling somewhat in the last few years, but this is apparently spawning a push for regeneration that could feasibly have a similar impact to similar moves in Manchester and Liverpool.

With an injection of £1.4 billion on its way, there are clearly hopes, from some speculators at least, that Blackpool will be "the next big thing", with demand for rented accommodation around the casino contributing to a vibrant buy-to-let sector.

Whether or not Blackpool ends up with a casino resort to match the dazzling lights of Vegas, there is no doubt that the north-west has emerged from the shadow of the south in recent years and it is now attracting southern property investors who had previously felt no need to stray from their immediate surroundings.

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