Focus on Leith
Buy to Let

Leith has something to offer everyone. It does a great job of being an integral part of Edinburgh while retaining its own sense of place, with a diverse community making space for all. The Scotch Whisky Society HQ and 2 of Edinburgh’s 3 Michelin Star restaurants brush shoulders with hipster watering holes which compete with swanky young professional’s haunts, leading to it being titled Edinburgh’s Las Ramblas. These are encapsulating the “live, work, play” lifestyle that Leith has to offer, which makes it the place to go to sample beer from its 2 award winning breweries or the spirits from its two distilleries.

Leith was once best known as one of the poorest areas in Edinburgh. However, the growth of business, particularly the finance sector, in the city centre has drawn significant numbers of new people and money to Edinburgh and Leith’s huge volume of housing stock right next door has provided much of the accommodation for these workers. A new generation of people now live in the area and more are desperate to join, with 96 new properties in one development gaining 3,400 applications. This gives you a taste of how prime the area is for people starting a family, young professionals who value a good social life and students who tend to stay post degree. The area has a young feel with an average age of 34 leading to high demand for rental accommodation.

Old merges with new in the area that a few decades ago had terrible occupancy rates. This is exemplified by CALA winning awards for their new developments which have encouraged them to build more in the area. There is also great use of non-residential buildings being turned it to flats making the area very ascetically pleasing and in keeping with the area’s heritage and identity. Brownfield conversion, especially in old bond warehouses, has been at the heart of Leith’s resurgence and these make for great investments.

One of the top 20 coolest places to live in the world, rental is becoming the norm with a 12% decrease within Edinburgh in the number of owner-occupied dwellings. Leith has the highest density in Scotland with 26,000 people living within 800 metres of Leith Walk. This works out at 123.5 people per hectare compared with 18.1 in the rest of Edinburgh but it seems to be a winning formula. This high-density living is offset with the fantastic green spaces of Pilrig Park & Leith Links. The area still manages to retain a community feel with 150 local clubs and community groups helping create an above average increase in property values.

One of the major attractions to Leith is the proximity to employment with 31% of inhabitants walking to work compared to 18% across the rest of the city. Fantastic public transport links mean that very few people feel the need to own a car. Leith is also Edinburgh’s creative hub with 2,000 registered businesses in the area, mainly SME’s. The Scottish Executive provides a large number of public sector jobs, while The Royal Yacht Brittania and Ocean Terminal provide retail and tourism attractions.

The future is looking bright for the area with more sustainable building plans after the mistakes of pre 2008 and amenities in abundance. The extension of the tram and the new St James centre at the top of Leith Walk will add to the large and diverse retail options and improving property and rental values. With 20 years of regeneration ahead many consider this the perfect time to consider investing in to this market.

Clan Gordon is one of Edinburgh's leading property rental agencies providing bespoke investment advice. Get in touch for a free initial consultation.

Area Profiles

EH6 4

This area offers great seaside living with its boundary following the coast from Ocean Terminal through Newhaven to the edge of Trinity. At its centre is the wonderful amenity of Victoria Park, while great transport links and peaceful living make this area very appealing.

What is a Quartile?

We often use upper quartile and lower quartile to assess or predict rental on property. The upper quartile is the median of the upper half of a data set and the lower the same for the bottom half. Clan Gordon focus on good quality properties so we would typically be looking at upper quartile in particular. We use www.citylets.co.uk to build our data analysis.

EH6 5

This area combines Bonnington up to Leith Walk and down to Great Junction Street, providing a range of housing for different levels of investment. At its heart is Pilrig Park providing an expanse of green space despite the large volume of new housing.

EH6 6

This area includes the Shore and everything it has to offer where the Water of Leith meets the sea, extending along to Western Harbour and the exciting developments that are occurring there. Great access to Edinburgh is afforded as it touches Leith Walk and various bus services run through.

EH6 7

Another coastal area this encompasses much of eastern Leith out to Seafield. The beautiful Leith Links takes up most of the area surrounded by extremely desirable housing. This area is on the cusp of becoming a great place to live as exciting new developments replace former industrial territory.

EH6 8

There is a high-density population in this area leading to great rental opportunities. Reaching down to Leith Links, this area takes in a large chunk of Leith Walk and Easter Road along with all the amenities these have to offer. It’s also just minutes’ walk to the city centre.

EH7 4

This area is in high demand having gentrified immensely. It takes in the top of Leith Walk and Broughton areas including St Mark’s park. It’s right next to the New Town and city centre and many of the buildings have similar characteristics to those in the New Town making it a very popular place to live for young professionals.

EH7 5

This location provides some the most in demand properties for lettings in the area capturing the top of Leith Walk and Easter Road and again is right on the edge of the city centre but with easy transport links via Waverley train station and multiple bus routes to any part of Edinburgh.

EH7 6

This area is very up and coming in the private rental sector while remaining in a great location. It has the best of both worlds as two arterial roads follow its boundary to converge in Portobello. With Leith on one side, Craigentinny Golf course in its midst and Arthur Seat towering above it is a fantastic place to live.