The best Birmingham suburbs to be a landlord

With its notorious reputation for having more canals than Venice, together with a thriving arts and creative scene, electric sports venues, the youngest population in Europe, enthralling theatres, and being the largest city by population in the UK outside London, Birmingham certainly has a lot to offer. 

Birmingham is a city home to around 1.15 million people all from different walks of life. Do you fancy living somewhere filled with cheery greenery, parks, restaurants, and excellent transport links to the centre? If so, living in the Birmingham suburbs could be ideal and mean you have the best of both worlds, an urban lifestyle and living amongst a friendly local community. 

Since it is a vibrant city with so many things going on and endless employment opportunities, Birmingham is an extremely attractive place for renters. As a result, becoming a buy-to-let landlord in the second city can be a positive move that you won’t regret. 

We are a specialist landlord insurance brokerage. Considering landlord insurance in Birmingham for a buy-to-let? We have devised this area guide to take a deeper look into the best Birmingham suburbs to be a landlord. 

Which Birmingham suburbs are particularly attractive to renters?

If you are looking for a buy-to-let property opportunity in Birmingham, you will have plenty of choices since the city is home to a long list of neighbourhoods which are all different in what they can offer tenants. Firstly, let’s consider why certain Birmingham suburbs are popular and sought after amongst renters. After all, it is better to be a landlord in an urban area which is in high demand. 

Edgbaston 

With the famous Edgbaston Cricket Ground home of the bears, and 120 acres of greenspace with the independent cinema and art gallery at the Midlands Arts Centre at Cannon Hill Park, there is lots to do and see for families and people of all ages. This in turn means you will have the potential to rent out your buy-to-let to a wide demographic, since many people across the board would like to rent a nice place in Edgbaston. 

It is also a neighbourhood that is a mere stone’s throw away from Birmingham city centre, being just under 2 miles or so away. It is perfect if you want an easy commute to work. If they want to stay fit, your tenants can cycle or go on foot to work from your property in Edgbaston. Convenience is everything, and Edgbaston offers that in abundance.

Edgbaston is also home to the University of Birmingham’s main campus, with its amazing academic and sports facilities, including hockey, rugby, and football pitches. So, your buy-to-let in the area will be a good rental choice for students and university staff alike. 

Selly Oak

Selly Oak is a buzzing area that is home to a large number of students (due to its proximity to the university’s campus), shops and supermarkets of all kinds, curry houses, and plenty more. Selly Oak is not only a top place for students to live, but it also has many nice quieter streets which are perfectly suitable for any families looking to rent.

Moseley

Sarehole Mill Museum, Moseley Bog, the bouncing Bull Head’s food and live music venue are just a few of the exciting things to see and do in Moseley. There is quite a bustling atmosphere in the area on Friday and Saturday nights, and a great selection of restaurants and bars to choose from. Get a buy-to-let property in Moseley and do a good job of keeping it in decent shape, and you will have renters who are willing to part with quite sizable amounts of money to be able to rent the place from you. 

Harborne

Despite only being a short bus ride from Birmingham city centre, Harborne is a Birmingham suburb that has a genuine village feel to it. What’s more, the neighbourhood is right next to Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital, one of the largest acute hospital facilities in Europe. Therefore, your buy-to-let in Harborne could be an attractive rental option for staff working at the nearby QE hospital. Let’s not forget that the University of Birmingham Campus is also just down the road from Harborne.

If your tenants are foodies, Damascena, Buonissimo, and the Harborne Kitchen are glistening examples of top restaurants in the area that they can check out.

Bournville

In south Birmingham lies the chocolate box suburb of Bournville, the home of the world-famous Cadbury Factory. It is also a wonderful area for families to live in and has easy access to the city centre thanks to direct local train links. Looking to invest in a buy-to-let in a suburb of Brum? Bournville is a smart choice. 

Sutton Coldfield 

Sutton Coldfield is a leafy picturesque suburb in north Birmingham. Like Bournville, people living there benefit from access to a direct train service into Birmingham city centre. Renters would enjoy the opportunity to live in a suburb of Birmingham full of greenery like Sutton Coldfield. So, Sutton Coldfield could be another wise option for you as a buy-to-let investor.

The factors we considered

To help inform our assessment of the best Birmingham suburb to be a landlord, we have looked at things that affect landlords including

• Local house prices
• Rent prices
• Handy local amenities that will attract rental tenants to your property

House prices

House prices vary a lot from area to area in a city, and the initial expense of purchasing a property will have a direct impact on your rental yields and how much money you make from acquiring a buy-to-let. The same is the case when getting a buy-to-let in a Birmingham suburb. So, we first took a look at house prices for different house types in all six of the suburbs we chose to focus on and how they compared. 

Flats are the cheapest to buy in Bournville

On the lookout to snap up a buy-to-let flat in a Birmingham suburb? Well, we can tell you that out of the six suburbs we focussed on, the average price of flats is the cheapest in the majestic Bournville in the south of the city, at £137,862. The next most affordable Brum neighbourhoods to buy flats according to data from the last year on Rightmove are Selly Oak and Moseley. 

Flats are a little more expensive in the attractive sought-after areas of Harborne and Edgbaston.

Source https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html 

Sutton Coldfield is lowest-priced for terraced houses

Sutton Coldfield is a great Birmingham suburb to live in, full of parks, bars, shops, and restaurants. Also, it has the most affordably priced terraced houses to buy at £232,103. At the other end of the price scale, the average price of terraced properties in the area of Edgbaston last year was significantly higher at £304,062. 

Selly Oak is a suburb popular with many terraced properties which are popular with student renters. So, why not become a HMO landlord and get a buy-to-let terraced property there? On average, buying one will set you back £271,498 in Selly Oak. 

Source https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html

Bournville has the lowest-priced semi-detached houses 

Semi-detached properties are also a quite common choice of family dwelling in British suburbs. Out of the six Birmingham suburbs we focussed on, it was Bournville that had the lowest purchase average price for semi-detached properties, at £308,953. The second lowest average just behind was Selly Oak, and then Sutton Coldfield to the north after that. Conversely, Edgbaston is home to the highest average prices for semi-detached homes.

Source https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html

Selly Oak on average has the lowest-priced detached houses 

Having a lovely detached home in the suburbs could be a desirable option for a lot of renters out there. Selly Oak has the lowest average price for detached properties at £474,402. Bournville is just behind at an average price of £491,134. On the other side of the spectrum, the average price for detached properties in Harborne is £672,356 and £784,816 in Edgbaston, however, these are both beautiful Birmingham suburbs for tenants to live in. 

Source https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html

*All averages correct based on September 2022-23 house price data*

Average rental prices for different property types

You get the figure for your annual rental yield percentage by dividing your annual rental income by the property value and then multiplying it by 100. So, a significant factor that will determine whether or not you are successful in your business ventures as a buy-to-let investor is going to be how much rental tenants shall realistically be prepared to pay for your property. 

You will always find that market prices for rents vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood in urban areas. Let’s start with looking at rent prices for one bedroom houses.

The highest average rent for one bedroom houses is in Edgbaston

Are you interested in investing in a simple one bedroom property in a Birmingham suburb, perhaps with a couple or just one tenant? Our research uncovered that you can expect to take the highest rent from one bedroom properties in the Edgbaston area, at an average of £1,364 per month. It is little surprise that this is the case, given that Edgbaston is such an eclectic urban hub where tenants will have so much to do on their doorstep. 

The average rent for one bedroom houses in the pretty suburb of Moseley nearby is a bit lower at £1,195. In contrast, the average rent monthly price in the Selly Oak area is £673. 

Source https://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/search  

You can get the highest rent for two bedroom houses in Edgbaston

Fancy renting two rooms out, and perhaps opening up your property to smaller size families? If so, a two bedroom buy-to-let will be a perfect choice. 

The highest average rent for a two bedroom property out of the six Birmingham properties we looked at was in Edgbaston at an average of £1,570 per month. Following closely behind was Harborne at £1,419 per month. Both are extremely pleasant suburban areas for tenants to live in.

Source https://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/search 

You will find the highest average rent for three bedroom houses in Moseley

Growing families often find themselves needing more space at some point. So, purchase a three bedroom home, and it may be ideal to rent to families. 

Alternatively, why not rent to students? Just remember, renting to at least three tenants from more than one household or family will mean that you need a HMO licence from the local council.

The highest average monthly rent for three bedroom properties in a Birmingham suburb is in Moseley, where they fetch £1,738. Moseley high street is a lovely area and anyone living in a rental property there will be part of the area’s friendly neighbourly community. Our research found that average monthly rent prices in the endearing south Birmingham neighbourhoods of Edgbaston and Harborne are a bit lower at £1,738 and £1,674 respectively.

Source https://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/search 

Edgbaston offers the highest average rent for four bedroom houses

If you want to rent out a higher number of bedrooms or have larger size families as tenants, consider investing in a four bedroom property. The highest average rent for four bedroom houses out of the suburban Birmingham neighbourhoods we looked at was Edgbaston, and by quite a stretch too at £2,675 per month compared to the second most expensive Sutton Coldfield, £2,038. 

Source https://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/search 

Which Birmingham suburbs have the best local amenities?

Tenants hoping to live in a nice suburban neck of the woods will also be keeping their eyes out for local amenities and how well-connected the area your property is located truly is. With this in mind, we sought data to shine a light on which areas had the best access to key local amenities. 

Sutton Coldfield has the highest number of local primary and secondary schools 

Birmingham is the youngest city in Europe, with under 25s making up 40% of the population. Most parents have hopes, dreams, and aspirations for their kids. Families with young kids looking to rent properties will always research and consider the quality of local primary and secondary schools that their young ones may attend in future years. 

Our research unearthed that Sutton Coldfield has the highest number of local primary and secondary schools, with an impressive total of 35. Edgbaston and Selly Oak both have ten local primary and secondary schools. 

Source https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/directory/24/birmingham_schools 

Sutton Coldfield has the most public parks and gardens 

Having access to green space is a real luxury that makes certain suburbs particularly appealing to renters. If your tenants are sporty, go for regular jogs, or enjoy walking the dog, Sutton Coldfield has a total of nine public parks and gardens for them to explore. Sutton Park is 2,400 acres in size! 

Despite its proximity to Birmingham city centre, Edgbaston is also a leafy area where green space is abundant. There are a total of six parks and gardens in the area for tenants to explore and enjoy. 

Birmingham may have a reputation as a typical industrial English city full of factories and smog, but it also has beautiful areas filled with greenery and inspiring parks and gardens. There’s nothing quite like the great outdoors!

Source https://www.google.com/maps/

Moseley, Selly Oak, and Sutton Coldfield all have nine local supermarkets

Having handy local supermarkets with scrumptious food and beverage options on their doorstep will be a big bonus for your tenants. Fortunately, the Birmingham suburbs have many great supermarket stores. 

Moseley, Selly Oak, and Sutton Coldfield all have nine local supermarkets. Whereas Edgbaston and Harborne have four and five respectively. Some supermarkets will be larger than others and be able to offer your tenants a wider variety of choices, and some sell more than just food and drink. For instance, George at Asda in Asda supermarkets sells clothes. 

Source https://www.google.com/maps/ 

Our research found Sutton Coldfield to be the best Birmingham suburb for landlords!

Ultimately, when everything was added up in terms of the data we uncovered, Sutton Coldfield came out as the best Birmingham suburb to be a buy-to-let landlord. It is little wonder when you think about the array of good-quality schools, shops, and green spaces that residents renting in Sutton Coldfield have on their doorstep. Many tenants would love to live in the suburb. 

Moseley and Bournville were in second and third place overall

Moseley and Bournville finished closely behind in second and third positions respectively. Moseley will always be a sought-after area of the city with renters, it has restaurants and cafés to die for as well as quick and easy access to the city centre. Bournville is a charming area which manages to stay true to its chocolate box historical roots. So, it is understandable why renters still flock there and it is a good place to be a landlord.

Methodology

We used data from Google Maps, Right Move, the Birmingham City Council website, and home.co.uk to help drive this research piece on the best Birmingham suburbs to be a landlord. With home.co.uk for example, we searched for monthly rental prices in relevant postcodes of the city. 

The data that we collected aimed to portray a balanced picture of the best Birmingham suburbs to be a landlord, based on multiple related factors. We calculated the overall rankings for the best Birmingham suburbs to be a landlord by adding together their accumulative scores for all the aspects we drew data on. 

Sources 

https://www.google.com/maps/ 

https://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/search  

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html