The North currently dominates the data
Of the four highest-scoring cities in PropertyAlert's current data — Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool and Manchester — all four are in the North of England. Newcastle alone has 148 active listings currently scoring 7 or above on investment score, more than double Sheffield's 56 and nearly double Liverpool's 80.
Why the North shows up this way
Lower average price points mean a given absolute discount represents a larger percentage gap to benchmark value, which is part of the picture — but the volume of genuinely high-scoring listings, not just their percentage discount, is what's driving these numbers. That points to real supply-side factors: a larger stock of older, unmodernised housing, active landlord-exit activity, and generally more distressed and motivated-seller listings entering the market relative to demand.
Leeds and Hull, for context
Leeds (507 active listings, 3.48 average score, 39 high-scoring) and Hull (174 listings, 3.46 average, 13 high-scoring) sit meaningfully behind the top four — still worth tracking, but the data doesn't currently support treating "the North" as uniformly strong. City-level and postcode-sector-level variation matters more than regional generalisation.
What this means practically
If you're searching broadly for BMV opportunity with no city preference, Newcastle's current data makes the strongest case of anywhere PropertyAlert tracks. But every regional signal here is a starting point for due diligence, not a substitute for it — verify any specific listing against genuine sold comparables before treating a high investment score as the final word.