Stockport in Greater Manchester has been drawing growing levels of interest from property investors as ongoing regeneration and upcoming transport improvements make it a key commuter town.

Property investors have been eyeing up the merits of Stockport for some time, with multiple new developments in the heart of the town selling out quickly and subsequently being snapped up by tenants moving in.

One of the main draws for both buyers and renters is the cheaper prices on offer than in neighbouring Manchester. The average price of a flat in Stockport town centre, according to the Office for National Statistics latest figures, is £175,000. This compares with an average price of £203,000 in Manchester city centre.

The latest research from Compare My Move shows that average rental prices in the commuter town are £1,464 per month right now, while tenants living in Manchester might expect to pay more than £100 more a month at £1,580 on average.

Manchester remains a hugely popular location for both property investors and tenants, and recent investment and redevelopment announcements have made the city even more sought after.

However, because of this, competition for properties is very high, and this could be behind the increase in private renters moving further afield according to Compare My Move.

It has listed Stockport as the number one Manchester commuter town, with more than 12% if Manchester dwellers leaving the big city to move there. This combines with the fact that only around a third (36%) of tenants moving house in Manchester last year stayed in the city, as demand for homes has skyrocketed.

The research listed Salford as the second top Manchester commuter town, where property prices are also lower than both the city and Stockport, while rents are slightly higher than in Stockport at an average of £1,478 per month.

Other top-ranking destinations for renting workers commuting into the city were Cheadle, Altrincham, Warrington, Bury, Sale, Liverpool, Oldham and Bolton. Oldham offered the cheapest rents on the list at just £893 per month, while the most expensive was Altrincham where rents were an average of £2,569 per month.

In recent months, the North West region as a whole has seen an uplift in tenant demand at a rate that surpasses most other parts of the country, and this is pushing rental prices up faster too. For property investors seeking strong rental yields, this puts the North West high on the agenda.

According to recent figures from Rightmove, Stockport has seen the second-fastest rental growth out of anywhere in the UK, with a 16.1% surge in rents over the past 12 months, which is a testament to the soaring tenant demand.

The town stands out for its recent regeneration efforts, and it continues to undergo a £1bn overhaul that’s set to deliver thousands of jobs and homes, and significantly boost infrastructure.

So far, the Town Centre West area has been transformed with a new transport exchange, additional housing to meet demand, and new commercial and social spaces. This is already attracting growing numbers of businesses to the town, along with new residents who are drawn to the area’s improving status.

Last year, Stockport made headlines in the national press, after it was named as the top place to live in the North West of England in the Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide. It was labelled “one of the most exciting towns around” by judges who visited the town. It also appeared alongside Tameside in the top five UK locations for rental demand – and the latest figures highlight the fact that this has continued.

For property investors and landlords, the strength of existing demand along with the planned future improvements coming to the town set it apart as a destination that can provide excellent returns through both rental income and the prospect of capital appreciation.

If you’d like to get ahead of the curve and invest in Stockport, get in touch with BuyAssociation today to find out about our current and upcoming investment opportunities.

The project has been supported with a £5.7m grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

A 20-storey tower could be built in Stockport town centre despite concerns about it having no affordable homes.

A scheme to demolish the derelict Victoria House building and Fletcher Street car park have been recommended for approval by Stockport council's officers, ahead of a town hall meeting on July 3 where councillors will vote on the plans.

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Developed by Progressive Living and managed by Picture This, the project has been supported with a £5.7m grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and will bring 245 new homes to the town.

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They will be a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments, and 12 two-bed townhouses, in a build-to-rent development with plans for a rooftop garden and community spaces on the ground floor.

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The scheme has been designed to be 'car free' apart from 11 accessible bays in a central courtyard, accessed from Fletcher Street.

A Stockport council report on the plans states that Victoria House - built in the 1960s - was once home to offices but is now empty and has fallen into a ‘very poor condition’ with demolition needed.

The surface car park at Fletcher Street sits below Victoria House and is used as a pay and display car park, with space for up to 87 cars.

But concerns were raised by councillors about the lack of affordable homes in the scheme.

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Speaking at the central Stockport area committee meeting on June 19, Manor councillor Sue Glithero said: "I'm exasperated. You've got 245 units and none of them can be affordable in the town centre?

"Are we becoming an offshoot of Manchester, with really tall apartments in Stockport town centre for professionals? Are we just becoming gentrified?"

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"Because I cannot believe that a developer with 245 units, that will cost a fortune for each individual one, that we can't have any affordable housing, when we’re having what I'm presuming is Greater Manchester grant money, public money. I don’t understand it, I really am exasperated by it."

A Stockport council officer said brownfield development 'is expensive' and 'is relying on public subsidy' in the town centre at the moment.

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According to council reports, the applicant has argued that 'financial viability prohibits the provision of any affordable housing units within the development'.

The recommendation for approval from Stockport council officers comes subject to an agreement for a 'late-stage viability review in respect of affordable housing' and other elements of the design.

Edgeley Coun Matt Wynne said questions over affordable housing and parking spaces are "critical", but supported the plans overall.

He said at the June 19 meeting: "This site has been an eyesore for some time, Victoria House, it's an absolute state at the moment, I'd probably say it's the worst site in the town centre if not the borough."

In January, Progressive Living director David Fairclough said the firm bought Victoria House six years ago with a 'clear vision of the town's potential as a vibrant place to live and invest'.

He added: "After collaborating with the council to integrate the two sites, we are excited to play a key role in Stockport's growth story and its continued economic success."

Much of Marple's 23,000 population considers the area to be a town in its own right rather than part of Stockport. With canal towpaths and ready access to the surrounding hills it is at the more rural end of the borough. As well as Marple Hall High School the area also has Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form and College for further education. There is also a cinema, one of Stockport's better-used shopping precincts and a large number of restaurants.

Much of Marple's 23,000 population considers the area to be a town in its own right rather than part of Stockport. With canal towpaths and ready access to the surrounding hills it is at the more rural end of the borough. As well as Marple Hall High School the area also has Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form and College for further education. There is also a cinema, one of Stockport's better-used shopping precincts and a large number of restaurants.

Much of Marple's 23,000 population considers the area to be a town in its own right rather than part of Stockport. With canal towpaths and ready access to the surrounding hills it is at the more rural end of the borough. As well as Marple Hall High School the area also has Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form and College for further education. There is also a cinema, one of Stockport's better-used shopping precincts and a large number of restaurants.

Much of Marple's 23,000 population considers the area to be a town in its own right rather than part of Stockport. With canal towpaths and ready access to the surrounding hills it is at the more rural end of the borough. As well as Marple Hall High School the area also has Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form and College for further education. There is also a cinema, one of Stockport's better-used shopping precincts and a large number of restaurants.

Regeneration opportunities unlocked by Mayoral Development Corporations across Greater Manchester are set to deliver more than 27,000 new homes in the city-region.

Mayoral Development Corporations are statutory bodies, set up by the Mayor, designed to speed up development and attract investment within a specific area. They can take on broad powers including land acquisition, planning and infrastructure functions.

Such powers are being used currently in Stockport’s Town Centre West to accelerate the £1 billion regeneration ambitions for the town centre, helping bring forward schemes such as the Stockport Interchange, and the Stockport Exchange business district as well as new town centre homes, such as at Weir Mill, Stockport 8 and Stopford Park. Stockport MDC is now looking to expand its remit to advance development across the entire town centre.

Alongside Stockport MDC, and its proposed expansion , proposed Mayoral Development Corporations in Old Trafford and the Northern Gateway (part of the wider Atom Valley development area), are expected to deliver 27,250 homes over the next 15 years.

Mayoral Development Corporations are part of the city-region’s wider strategy to addressing Greater Manchester’s housing crisis, and sit alongside its Good Landlord Charter, driving up the standard of rented accommodation, and the Brownfield Housing Fund. Set up in 2020, the fund has provided grants to deliver over 15,000 homes – with an average of just over 45% being affordable housing – and invested £135.4 million to redevelop brownfield sites.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:

“If we are serious about securing the long-term success of Greater Manchester, we need to free ourselves from the grip of the housing crisis.

“Because of the decisions we’ve taken, Greater Manchester is now building more affordable homes than at any point since the turn of the millennium.

“We need to keep building on that momentum until we reach a tipping point where we build more social homes than we lose.

“We’re determined to ensure that every person in Greater Manchester has access to the safe and secure home they need in order to thrive.”

Cllr Bev Craig, Portfolio Lead for Economy, Business and Inclusive Growth said:

“Greater Manchester is leading the way in delivering new homes, jobs and infrastructure, using our devolved powers to drive growth.

“We have pioneered the Mayoral Development Corporation model to great success in Stockport and we want to replicate that success across Greater Manchester. It gives us the ability to accelerate regeneration by bringing major partners together and unlocking sites for development, directly tackling the housing crisis at its root.

“These are part of a range of tools we’re using in Greater Manchester to leverage the potential of transformative regeneration, including projects like Victoria North – a once-in-a-generation development that will deliver more than 15,000 homes and create new green spaces and employment opportunities in the heart of our city-region.”

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