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One Touch Property – the effect of regeneration on the Liverpool home market

Posted 2 December 2016 by Keith Osborne

The specialist investment property firm takes a look at Liverpool and how the city's property prices are being affected by significant redevelopment...

Specialising in buy-to-let homes for the investment market, One Touch Property is currently marketing schemes across the UK, but with a number located across the ‘Northern Powerhouse’, including in Liverpool.

For over ten years, the city has benefitted from significant investment in regeneration, as well as the attention it got for its 800th anniversary in 2007 and in its role as European Capital of Culture in 2008. Here, the One Touch team looks at what has happened and where the property market in Liverpool may lead in the coming years…

Liverpool Vision is an Economic Development Company based in the city which has spearheaded many of Liverpool’s many urban regeneration projects in the city they are based in, such as the Baltic Triangle, Liverpool ONE, Ropewalks and Echo Arena Liverpool.

As well as the regeneration projects Liverpool Vision have been involved in, here are just a few regeneration projects that have taken place in Liverpool or are in the pipeline, and how they have benefitted the city.

Liverpool ONE

The aim of the redevelopment scheme, also known as The Paradise Project, aimed to regenerate 42 acres of underutilised land in Liverpool city centre. The scheme was led by retail giants Debenhams and John Lewis, incorporating not only retail spaces, but also leisure facilities, office blocks and an Odeon cinema. The vast majority of the complex was opened in phases during Liverpool’s year as the European Capital of Culture.

When Liverpool ONE was completed, the effect it had on Liverpool’s economy was pronounced. It took Liverpool into the top five most popular shopping destinations in the UK.  New businesses were springing up, and over 40% of Liverpool ONE’s retailers are new to the Liverpool area. Visits to the area sky-rocketed, and total footfall within the development to the end of 2008 was over 13million. Liverpool had finally managed to establish itself as a major shopping destination in the UK. Not only has footfall increased to the retail district, but the Albert Dock has also seen an increase of around 100,000 visitors per week, up 46% overall.

Lime Street Regeneration

The £39m scheme involves the creation of a 412-bedroom student block, over 30,000 sq ft of commercial space and a 101-bedroom hotel. Older derelict buildings will be demolished and new leisure, commercial and retail buildings will occupy the space. This regeneration project was approved in August 2016.

Liverpool Waters

Liverpool Waters is a £5.5bn project that aimed to regenerate Liverpool’s docklands that will extend 2km along the River Mersey, headed by the Peel Group. It is the sister programme of the Wirral Waters project and together they make up the Mersey Waters Enterprise Zone. Both projects enjoy enterprise zone status, which offers attractive incentives to businesses to invest there, including business rates discounts, superfast broadband and flexibility in terms of use of floor space. Not only does the project aim to build a new cruise terminal on 60 acres of derelict dockland, but it also includes the construction of over 9,000 apartments, offices, hotels and bars.

The Anfield Project

The Anfield Project is a redevelopment plan spearheaded by Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Football Club and Your Housing Group. It has been in place since 2013, with the aim to improve the existing strengths of the Anfield area. It includes a range of developments, some of which are already beginning, such as:

  • New and refurbished housing
  • New street lighting, parks and refurbished alleyways
  • The expansion of Liverpool Football Club’s Anfield stadium
  • Anfield Square – a new public square that will include commercial and retail space and a new hotel
  • New retail premises along the high street, including a new Liverpool FC superstore and café

House prices in Liverpool remain relatively modest standing at an overall average of £145,603. Consequently, the rental yields that can be achieved from Liverpool buy-to-let investments are far higher than those achieved elsewhere. With multiple regeneration and housebuilding projects either in the pipeline or recently completed, Liverpool’s prominence in the North West is gathering momentum and the effect it is having on the housing market is already evident.

Arran Kerkvliet, investment director at One Touch Property, says: “Liverpool has always been the less expensive alternative to Manchester. But with all the regeneration projects either having been completed or in progress, things are set to change. House prices in Liverpool have been growing at one of the fastest paces out of any city in the UK and that does not look set to change with the constant improvements being made to the city. It is one of the best cities to consider if an investor is looking for a property that will achieve good rental yields and capital gains”.

One Touch Property specialises in student property investments, and Arran notes that the average price of a student pod in Liverpool has increased by slightly over 20% from £49,995 to £59,995 in the past three years. Purpose-built student studios have seen an even bigger price jump over the past three years, from £56,000 to £72,000 – an increase of 28.5%.

One Touch Property has observed the preference for waterside property, especially around the Baltic Triangle and New Chinatown, where a two-bedroom duplex recently sold off-plan for a staggering £423,000. One-bedroom properties in the area usually fetch in the region of £142,000, and further along the waterfront by the Strand, property sells for around £127,950.

Kerkvliet predicts that the trend for owning property along Liverpool’s waterfront is set to continue, as interest is especially prominent from overseas investors and UK owner occupiers. With regeneration projects either in the pipeline or recently completed, Liverpool’s prominence in the North West is gathering momentum and the effect it is having on the housing market is already evident.


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