Every three months, the LendInvest BTL Index surveys all postcode areas in England and Wales and ranks them based on a combination of four metrics: capital value growth, transaction volumes, rental yield and rental price growth.

The top of the BTL index
First place: Romford has replaced Luton at the top of the index climbing six places thanks to average prices soaring by 16.6% and rents rising by 8.3%, the third highest rental growth in the country, after Coventry (9.5%) and Stevenage (10.2%). The increase in rental prices has also maintained an attractive yield for potential investors in Romford, currently 5.2%.

Second place: Despite losing top spot, Luton remains a highly desirable market with capital gains showing no signs of slowing down (up 15.2% in the past year). Continued growth in the rental market (7.9%) has tempered the compression of yields (4.7%), proving Luton to be a resilient staple in the Buy-to-let index.

Third place: A close third and another climber in the index is Dartford. The Dartford market has seen the greatest level of capital gains of all markets in the last 12 months, with prices soaring by 17.8%, in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market. Dartford also benefitted from strong rental growth over the year (6.3%), leaving average yields at 4.7%.