If you’re interested in becoming a landlord in Edinburgh, or in expanding your current Edinburgh property portfolio, knowing the best areas to buy a rental property is key to your success.

Ideally, a rental property will balance a reasonable purchase price with a strong rental yield to give you a good return on your investment. The lettings experts at ESPC Lettings can help advise you on what this looks like, to help ensure that you make a successful investment.

In our new series “How to Invest in Buy-to-Let Property” we use the latest Citylets data and ESPC house price information, along with expertise from ESPC Lettings, to reveal the best areas in Edinburgh to invest in rental property.

Next in the series: EH12, spanning areas such as Corstorphine, Murrayfield, Hermiston and Saughtonhall.

Investing in EH12

EH12 is a postcode area that includes some of the most popular and family-friendly neighbourhoods in Edinburgh, meaning it’s a great investment for buy-to-let property.

The postcode area of EH12 spans popular residential areas including Corstorphine, Murrayfield, Saughtonhall and Hermiston, all of which particularly appeal to families in Edinburgh looking for homes close to good schools, green spaces and local amenities, with excellent transport links into the nearby city centre.

EH12 is very close to Edinburgh city centre, making it a very popular choice with commuters and young professionals who want to take advantage of the tram and bus links into and across the city centre.

Rental yields in EH12

According to the latest Citylets data (Q3 2023), properties in EH12 report some of the highest rental yields in Edinburgh, making this location a solid investment for prospective landlords.

In the EH12 postcode, one-bedroom properties perform the strongest, offering an average rental yield of 7.3%. Two-bed homes provide a yield of 6.8%, while three-bedroom properties have a yield of 5.3% on average.

Reasons to invest in EH12

There are many good reasons to invest in the EH12 area, and we’ve highlighted just a few below:

  • EH12 is an area very close to the city centre, but slightly more affordable than other postcodes in the area, particularly for flats.
  • The EH12 area is very popular with a wide variety of tenants, from young professionals looking for flats, to families searching for a larger home.
  • EH12 offers access to amenities which make it very popular for families who want to live in the area for a longer term, so there’s less chance of tenants changing regularly. The area is home to well-regarded schools, green spaces and excellent local amenities, so families generally want to stay in the area for an extended period, making it a great place to invest in a larger house or flat over a smaller property.

Cons of investing in EH12

For balance, there are some points to consider before buying a property in EH12:

  • EH12 is mainly made up of family homes, such as houses and bungalows, which means your initial outlay will be higher than if you were investing in an area that is more populated with tenements and flats. The ongoing maintenance for a larger property will also be higher in cost.
  • The areas of EH12 which are most popular, such as Corstorphine and Murrayfield, are generally more expensive than some other areas, meaning you’ll need a larger budget to secure quality property in these neighbourhoods.

Property market data for EH12

According to the latest ESPC House Price data (for October-December 2023), the average price for property in EH12 is £333,235.

A one-bedroom property in EH12 has an average price of £189,262, while a two-bed currently costs £255,830. Three-bedroom homes in EH12 cost, on average, £393,581.

Buyers bid an average of 102.5% of the Home Report valuation to successfully purchase a property in EH12.

Properties in EH12 take a median time of 26 days to go under offer.

Check out the latest ESPC House Price Report to keep up-to-date with the local property market.

Find out more

Are you ready to start your property investment journey?

Property investment should be taken as a long-term decision, so it’s very important that you consider all relevant factors before proceeding with a purchase. Take advice from the expert mortgage advisers at ESPC Mortgages to make sure you understand the financial obligations of a buy-to-let property, and speak to the ESPC Lettings team to find out everything you need to know about letting a property in Edinburgh, to prepare you to take the plunge into property investment.

Check out our guides to investing in EH3 and investing in EH4

Search all properties for sale IN EH12