It is now a decade since George Osborne’s 3% Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge on additional properties came into force in April 2016. At the time, the policy was framed as a brake on buy-to-let investment, designed to cool an over-heating market and level the playing field for first-time buyers. Ten years on fresh data from Paragon Bank tells a rather more interesting story and it is one in which Sheffield and the wider North are clearly the winners.
For landlords considering where to grow a portfolio, or for those weighing up whether to consolidate their existing portfolio, the trend is a useful one to understand.
A clear and lasting rebalancing
In 2015, just before the surcharge took effect, the southern regions of England accounted for nearly 56% of all mortgaged buy-to-let purchases. The Midlands and the North together made up just under 35%. By 2025, that picture had effectively flipped. The Midlands and the North now represent just over half of all mortgaged landlord purchases, while the South’s share has fallen to 38%.
The shift has been particularly pronounced in our part of the country. According to Paragon Bank’s analysis:
- Yorkshire has risen from around 7% of buy-to-let purchases to just over 10%
- The North West has jumped from 9% to almost 14% — the biggest gain of any region
- The North East has climbed from 4% to 7%
- The West Midlands has grown from just over 8% to nearly 11%
- The East Midlands has edged up from around 7.5% to just under 9%
Meanwhile, the South has moved firmly in the opposite direction. Greater London’s share has dropped from 19% to just over 12%, the South East has fallen from 24% to under 16%, and the South West has slipped from nearly 9% to around 6%.
Why landlords have looked north
The reasons behind the shift are straightforward when you think about how the maths of buy-to-let actually work.
A 3% surcharge on a £600,000 property in the South East is an additional £18,000 of stamp duty that has to come out of the landlord’s pocket on day one. The same surcharge on a £200,000 property in Sheffield is £6,000. The southern hit is harder to absorb, and the rental yield rarely makes up the difference. By contrast, properties in Yorkshire and the North have lower entry prices, stronger gross yields, and — increasingly — robust tenant demand driven by population growth, professional employment hubs, two excellent universities locally, and the regeneration of city centres like ours.
Louisa Sedgwick, managing director of mortgages at Paragon Bank, put it well: “The stamp duty surcharge was a defining moment for the buy-to-let market. Ten years on, the data shows a clear and lasting rebalancing… Landlords have become more commercially focused, and regions such as the North West, Yorkshire and the North have moved from being alternative locations to core buy-to-let markets, while higher-priced southern regions have seen their relative importance decline.”
What this means for Sheffield landlords
For landlords already invested in Sheffield, this isn’t just a headline — it’s a reflection of the fundamentals you’ve been benefiting from for years. Sheffield offers what most southern markets cannot: an attainable entry price, healthy gross yields, a deep and varied tenant pool (students, young professionals, NHS staff, postgraduate researchers, families relocating for the lower cost of living), and a city in genuine economic transition.
For landlords elsewhere who are considering where to deploy capital next, the data makes a compelling case for looking at the city. The same £30,000 stamp duty bill that buys you one flat in Zone 4 will get you several properties in S1, S3, S7 or S11, each producing rental income from day one.
It is also worth noting Paragon’s wider point: with population growth forecast to continue and southern investment declining, the supply-demand imbalance in London and the South East is likely to worsen. That has long-term implications for rental inflation across the country — and reinforces the importance of well-managed, well-presented stock in the markets that *are* still attracting investment. Sheffield is one of those markets.
How Horizon Lets can help
At Horizon Lets, we know Sheffield property because we live it every day. We’re a boutique lettings agency by design — handling fewer properties than the high-street chains, so every landlord on our books gets attention to detail, accurate pricing, careful tenant matching, and a proper hands-on service.
Whether you’re a first-time landlord weighing up your first Sheffield purchase, an established portfolio investor relocating capital from a saturated southern market, or simply considering whether your current letting agent is the right fit, we’d be delighted to talk.
Get in touch with the Horizon Lets team to discuss the local market, achievable rents in your postcode, or how our bespoke management service works.
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