New research from specialist lender Together reveals that 76% of buy-to-let landlords intend to refinance their property portfolios within the next 12 months, using released equity to fund further acquisitions. Crucially, the survey identifies a marked geographic shift in investment appetite, with landlords increasingly directing capital towards northern England and Scotland rather than the traditional southern strongholds of London and Surrey. This is not a marginal trend but a structural repositioning of buy-to-let capital that carries significant implications for regional property markets, mortgage lenders, and the wider rental sector.
The scale of this refinancing intention matters enormously for the UK property market's trajectory over the coming year. With three in four landlords planning to release equity, we are likely looking at billions of pounds re-entering the acquisition market at a time when transaction volumes have been subdued by higher borrowing costs. Average buy-to-let mortgage rates, while down from their 2023 peaks of around 6%, remain elevated at roughly 4.5-5% for five-year fixed products, meaning refinancing decisions are increasingly driven by accumulated capital appreciation rather than cheap debt. Landlords who purchased a decade ago in cities like Manchester and Leeds, where property values have risen 60-70% over that period according to Land Registry data, are sitting on substantial unrealised equity that refinancing can unlock.
The northward pivot in investment activity reflects a straightforward yield calculation that professional landlords have been making with increasing conviction. Gross rental yields in Manchester and Liverpool routinely exceed 6-7%, compared with yields of 3-4% in prime London postcodes and parts of Surrey, where high capital values suppress returns even as rents climb. Newcastle and Birmingham are similarly benefiting from this recalibration, buoyed by regeneration spending, HS2-adjacent development in the Midlands, and university-driven rental demand. For landlords refinancing existing London or Surrey holdings to fund northern acquisitions, the arithmetic is compelling: lower entry prices, stronger yields, and continued population growth in regional cities create a more resilient income stream than southern capital growth plays that have cooled considerably since 2022.
This shift carries important consequences for different market participants. Buy-to-let landlords with existing equity are clearly positioned to benefit, provided they can navigate tightening lending criteria—particularly the stress-testing requirements that continue to constrain borrowing capacity for portfolio landlords with four or more properties. First-time buyers in northern cities may face intensifying competition for stock as investor demand grows, potentially pushing entry-level prices upward in areas that have historically offered relative affordability. Commercial investors and developers should note the signal this sends about where institutional and private capital expects rental demand to strengthen; build-to-rent schemes in Manchester and Leeds are likely to see renewed interest as a direct consequence of this retail investor sentiment.
Looking ahead six to twelve months, expect refinancing activity to accelerate as the Bank of England's rate trajectory becomes clearer, with markets currently pricing in gradual reductions through 2025. Specialist and challenger lenders such as Together are well placed to capture this demand, particularly from landlords with complex portfolios or those operating through limited company structures, which now account for the majority of new buy-to-let purchases according to industry data. Mainstream lenders may find themselves competing harder for this business, potentially compressing margins on buy-to-let products. Meanwhile, the regional rebalancing of investment will likely continue pushing up prices in secondary northern cities and towns—Sheffield, Preston, and parts of Yorkshire beyond Leeds—as landlords search for yield once the obvious opportunities in Manchester and Liverpool become more fully priced.
The broader implication is that the buy-to-let sector is entering a new phase of maturity, where sophisticated landlords are actively managing capital structures rather than passively holding assets. This refinancing wave represents a vote of confidence in regional UK property fundamentals at precisely the moment when southern markets, weighed down by affordability constraints and weaker rental yield arithmetic, are losing their traditional appeal. Investors who fail to recognise this geographic reallocation risk missing the next phase of the buy-to-let cycle, while those extending northward now are effectively front-running a trend that institutional capital is only beginning to notice.
