28th
May 2017
A buy to let brand of a major banking group states that there is a decline in numbers of landlords wishing to expand their portfolios.
The latest quarterly index from the buy-to-let arm of the bank shows that only 13% of landlords will be increasing their buy-to-let portfolios, the lowest for eleven years.
Tax changes and stamp duty increases are undoubtedly the prime reasons why less landlords are investing further and surprisingly the index shows that numbers of prospective tenants had fell in the first three months of 2017.
17% of landlords said that they had experienced a fall in demand notably in the London boroughs, with the capital's landlords reporting falls is now higher than those who reported an increase in demand.
Although it may seem all doom and gloom, landlords are now more optimistic about the UK's financial market which is nearly twice as high as it was twelve months ago and has encouraged UK rental yields to remain stable.
754 online interviews with landlords were conducted between 17 March and 30 March 2017 that involved questions about how they felt about their own letting business.
47% of south east landlords are the feeling most positive about their business selecting the answers ‘good’ or ‘very good’ , however in Scotland and Wales there was just 26% that felt the same.
Nearly half of landlords (48%) have said that rents have risen in their area, in Q4 the figure was 53%. In the last twelve months 42% of landlords have raised rents across their properties compared to 45% in Q4 of last year and 32% will be increasing rents over the next six months, whereas in Q4 it was 37%.
Phil Rickards, head of the bank's buy-to-let arm, said: “Despite signs of landlord confidence stabilising this quarter, fewer landlords are feeling optimistic about the prospects for their own businesses.
“This has driven down the number of those looking to expand their portfolio further to a new all-time low despite the average portfolio creeping up slightly.
“The impact of the tax changes has a natural link to landlord confidence, as the market landscape continues to be reshaped by changes in regulation.”
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