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With a buoyant property market, bustling city centre and regeneration of its riverside area, it’s little wonder Glasgow is becoming the city of choice for landlords and tenants alike.
Glasgow’s rental market
With house prices in Edinburgh making buying to let an increasingly expensive and less profitable option in the short to medium term, potential landlords have been snapping up properties all over Glasgow – so much so that some agents estimate that there are on average at least two or three buy to lets in every eight-flat tenement. Rent is consequently much more reasonable than in the Capital.
What’s more, the city itself has plenty to offer - Glasgow has a vibrant nightlife, and is the UK’s second-biggest shopping centre after London.
History
Glasgow’s signature red and yellow Victorian sandstone buildings are a legacy of the city’s expansion during the Industrial Revolution, and the city has a higher than average amount of parks.
Despite some housing falling into disrepair in the 1960s and 1970s, some flats were destroyed and tower blocks built in their place on the outskirts. However most of the traditional tenements that survived were refurbished and are now in high demand. There have also been a series of new developments in and around the city after Glasgow won awards including European City of Culture in 1990 and UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999.
The market is still behind in comparison to Edinburgh largely because the city centre was virtually all council housing until about 1990, and the wealthy opted for the outskirts instead. Until recently, it has tended to be governed by institutions rather than individuals.
Trends
- Preferences: Glasgow tenants are by and large focussed on design, and open to experiment with ‘fashion’ products, unusual finishes and dramatic effects. There is also more of a tendency towards new developments than in Edinburgh. Glasgow is also seen as more architecturally progressive than the Capital.
- Kitchens: tend to be a reflection of the owner’s personality rather than a tool to increase a property’s sell on price
- Tenants: plenty of cheap, quality homes mean Glasgow residents have a wide range of choice.
- Prices: much more reasonable than Edinburgh – ranging from a few hundred pounds per month to around £3,000.
Where to Live
Traditional
The West End: a consistently popular area to rent in, this area attracts a mixture of students and professionals. Centred around Byres Road which has plenty of restaurants, shops and bars, flats here are in high demand, and cost around £1000 to £1200 per month for a 3 bedroom flat. If you go slightly further afield to areas such as Hyndland and Dowanhill you can pay on overage £500 to £1000, and Partick is cheaper with rents ranging from £400 to £600.
Kelvinside: seen as the most upmarket area of Glasgow, this is where to find premium properties where can be as much as £2000 per month or more.
North West (officially Dumbartonshire): properties in Bearsden and Milngavie are also upmarket and are available from approx £750 to £2000 per month.
Up and coming areas
A combination of new builds in regenerated areas and a demand for tenement flats at affordable prices has seen an increase in available properties in newly fashionable areas.
The South Side: widely seen as a more reasonably priced alternative to the West End, just over the Clyde there are plenty of popular tenement properties available in areas such as Langside, Queen’s Park and Shawlands where you can expect to pay between £450 and £700 per month for a flat.
For more family orientated properties with gardens, areas such as Giffnock, Newton Mearns (in Renfrewshire) and Whitecraigs range from £770 to about £2000 per month.
City centre
The traditional Glaswegian status symbols of a bungalow in leafy Newton Mearns or a first-floor flat among the golden sandstone tenements of the city’s West End is now being replaced by luxury city apartments, loft developments and new hi-tech housing projects. Cutting-edge architecture and design are the trademark of these new-built flats and conversions
Developers are luring people away from suburbia and tapping into this demand by creating excellent examples of urban living with both new-build developments and conversions of existing industrial space in the city centre such as the Clyde Street development and 190 West George Street. Here are some other examples.
The Merchant City: this is an area which has seen extensive regeneration with the former warehouses of the great tobacco lords transformed into stylish flats, restaurants and designer shopping outlets. Its apartments are mostly one or two bed and range from about £400 to £800 per month.
Fleming House: Fitted with floor to ceiling windows that extend the full length of the flat, these 40 flats 300 feet above the Garnethill area of the city centre have an amazing view as well as state of the art appliances and fittings. The flooring is ash wood, the kitchen has glass work surfaces and the fridge, freezer, hob and oven are all by Smeg.
Todd building on Ingram Street: many of these pioneering apartments are so large that one enterprising resident fitted a trapeze.
West George Street: 12 luxury apartments self proclaimed as the best in Glasgow, these are huge two-bedroom flats with mosaic glass tiling and bathrooms that include appliances by Phillippe Starck.
George Square: the old Post Office building boasts penthouse and two-bedroom mezzanine flats while budget buyers could opt for Berkley Street, opposite the city’s Mitchell Library.
Riverside: widely marketed as on its way to becoming the most desirable address in Scotland, this area has already seen a great deal of regeneration which look set to continue.
The £500 million rejuvenation of Glasgow Harbour means the area will eventually be home to first-class retail, leisure and commercial districts spanning 120 acres, the equivalent of 320 full-sized football pitches, on the north bank of the River Clyde from the Clyde Tunnel to the SECC.
It’s one of the largest waterfront regeneration projects in the UK and gives access to over 3km of riverfront and 15 acres of parkland.
This will eventually incorporate thousands of properties including two modern apartment blocks rising out of the derelict dockland on the north bank of the River Clyde, and offers one, two and three-bedroom flats, penthouses and townhouses with spectacular views. Prices start at approximately £600 per month for a 2 bedroom flat.
Other areas to watch out for
Maryhill and Anniesland: these areas further from the town centre but good local amenities and improved public transport links to the town centre and universities are making them increasingly attractive renting alternatives.
Broomielaw: once run-down areas like this are now witnessing emerging new apartment complexes, with developments such as the Pinnacle and Matrix transforming many tired office blocks and vacant lots into stylish accommodation.
East End: Dennistoun in particular is already benefiting from its proximity to the Merchant City.
Gorbals: the notorious area is just across the river from the city centre and has a selection of affordable new build accommodation.
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