Where is £500k best invested in the current property market?

The latest research by the peer to peer lending platform, Sourced Capital, has taken a look at where’s best to invest in the current property landscape.

Sourced Capital looked at the average annual return available on a £500k investment across both the commercial and residential buy-to-let markets, to see which makes the most financial sense despite current market instability.

As a whole, residential buy-to-let offers a better investment option to commercial property with the average UK yield currently at 5%, returning £138k over five years based on annually compounded interest.

The average return across the commercial sector is currently 2.2%, meaning your £500k would return just under £60,000 over the course of five years. However, as with all property investment, this depends on where you invest it.

The best residential buy-to-let option is currently the North West, where yields climb as high as 5.5% on average, returning £153,480 over five years.

The North East and Yorkshire and the Humber are also some of the most profitable pockets for a residential buy-to-let, however, the East of England sits at the other end of the table. The region is home to an average yield of just 3.8%, returning £102,500 over five years. The high cost of buying in the South East and London means they’re also amongst the worst regions for a residential buy-to-let return.

When it comes to investing in a commercial property, the average yield might come in lower than that of the average residential buy-to-let, but depending on which sector you opt for, the returns can be far higher.

Investing in an industrial commercial property would see the average return of 2.2% per year increase to 7.6% or £221,160 over five years. Surprisingly office space as a whole is the next most profitable with a 6.9% annual return bringing a profit of £198,005 over five years. However, narrow your investment to central London and this return drops marginally to 5.8% per year.

The only bricks and mortar investment in the list that would lose you money is currently commercial retail space. Annually, this investment would lose you -6.2% a year, or £136,935 over five years.

Alternatively, investing via a peer to peer platform like Sourced Capital could see a return of 10% a year, climbing to as much as 12% depending on the project you invest in. Over five years, this hands-off approach could return a healthy £305,225, making it the most profitable as well as the least strenuous.

Of course, as with all investments, capital is at risk and the return you receive on any investment can differ both ways to the UK average.

Based on annually compounded interest
Investment type
Initial investment
Average annual return
Investment Return after 1 year
Balance after 1 year
Balance after 5 years
Investment Return after 5 years
Sourced P2P investment
£500,000
10.0%
£50,000
£550,000
£805,255
£305,255
Commercial – Industrial
£500,000
7.6%
£38,000
£538,000
£721,160
£221,160
Commercial – Office
£500,000
6.9%
£34,500
£534,500
£698,005
£198,005
Commercial – Central London Office
£500,000
5.8%
£29,000
£529,000
£662,824
£162,824
Commercial – Retail
£500,000
-6.2%
-£31,000
£469,000
£363,065
-£136,935
Commercial – Overall
£500,000
2.2%
£11,000
£511,000
£557,474
£57,474
Residential – B2L – North West
£500,000
5.5%
£27,445
£527,445
£653,480
£153,480
Residential – B2L – North East
£500,000
5.0%
£24,760
£524,760
£638,141
£138,141
Residential – B2L – Yorkshire and the Humber
£500,000
4.8%
£23,986
£523,986
£632,086
£132,086
Residential – B2L – West Midlands
£500,000
4.6%
£23,040
£523,040
£626,078
£126,078
Residential – B2L – East Midlands
£500,000
4.1%
£20,284
£520,284
£611,257
£111,257
Residential – B2L – South West
£500,000
4.0%
£20,085
£520,085
£608,326
£108,326
Residential – B2L – London
£500,000
4.0%
£19,907
£519,907
£608,326
£108,326
Residential – B2L – South East
£500,000
3.9%
£19,271
£519,271
£605,407
£105,407
Residential – B2L – East of England
£500,000
3.8%
£19,030
£519,030
£602,500
£102,500
Residential – B2L – UK
£500,000
5.0%
£24,759
£524,759
£638,141
£138,141

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Breaking Property News 13/2/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   96% of proptechs fail to get to series A funding – here is why Thought Leadership by Andrew Stanton, CEO Proptech-PR The proptech sector has never been short of ideas. From AI-driven valuations and digital conveyancing to smart buildings and tokenised real estate, innovation in property…
Read More
Breaking News

Landlords unprepared for the Renters’ Rights Act

Three quarters have made no preparations for the end of Section 21, despite major reforms taking effect from May 2026 New research from Inventory Base has revealed widespread lack of preparedness among UK landlords ahead of the first phase of reforms under the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA), due to come into force on 1 May…
Read More
Breaking News

Why capital is staying in London despite a cooling housing market

By Joe Freedman, Head of Origination at ASK Partners London isn’t suffering from a lack of housing demand. It’s suffering from a failure to deliver. New data from Molior underlines the scale of that failure. Just 5,547 private homes broke ground across the capital last year, an 84% drop from a decade ago. Against an…
Read More
Breaking News

The hidden risk of overvaluing your home when moving in today’s market

With many homeowners turning ambitious conversations into tangible moving plans, the start of the year traditionally marks a surge in activity, particularly for families planning for the future. While the property market remains fundamentally healthy, experts at Beresfords say overvaluing property is one issue that continues to undermine the progress of those looking to sell.…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove launches next phase of AI-powered property search

Rightmove, the UK’s largest property platform, has launched a beta version of AI-powered conversational property search, as it continues to enhance its property search experience. In close collaboration with Google Cloud and built with Google’s Gemini models, conversational search is available via the property search bar on Rightmove’s website homepage. The latest move further expands…
Read More
Breaking News

Should you break things off with your mortgage lender this Valentine’s Day?

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the latest research from award-winning mortgage adviser, Alexander Hall, has revealed that more than half of homeowners approaching the end of a fixed-rate mortgage are currently undecided on their relationship with their lender, despite notable improvements across the mortgage market over the last 12 months. The consumer insight, commissioned by Alexander…
Read More