Rounding out the top five behind Glasgow are the university towns of Hull with a gross yield of 4.80%, Manchester with 4.59%, Cambridge with 4.54% and Bristol 4.29%.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.co.uk said: “The largest number of students or most prestigious university clearly isn’t necessarily best for investment returns. Landlords need to do their research and take into account the student demand, property supply, average property values and average monthly rents.”
Hall said there was no apparent North and South divide when it came to student buy-to-let investments.
A number of towns in the North are showing higher gross yields than the South as a result of property values having remained lower over the past few years whilst rental demand has increased.
The research revealed that the average gross yield on a typical four-bed student property across the UK is 3.79%.
Those university towns that student landlords might wish to avoid were identified as Carlisle with a yield of 2.58%, Middlesbrough 2.61% and Bournemouth 3.09%.
Despite having the largest student population in the UK London came in as only the tenth most attractive place in the UK to invest in student accommodation.
Despite fierce demand for rental accommodation, house prices in the capital are increasing more rapidly than rents and reducing the returns on offer for landlords.
The average gross yield on a typical student property in London is 4.20%.
In terms of best value for students the cheapest digs are in Middlesbrough where the average monthly rent for a four-bed property is just £562.
At the other end of the scale London is by far the most expensive with an average four-bed property costing £3,485 per month.
Oxford (£1,834) and Cambridge (£1,628) are also among the most expensive.
