Landlords looking to increase property portfolio

Published: 12/08/2011

23 per cent of landlords are more optimistic about the buy-to-let market, according to The Q2 Private Rented Sector Trends Report.

The same report detailed that nearly a third of landlords have increased their tenants rent between 2 – 4 per cent. With such positive strides forward, it is no surprise that many are keen to capitalise on lower property prices and add to their existing portfolio.

Landlords are, on average, aiming to have 13.1 properties in their portfolio by the end of the year.

Semi-detached houses have seen the biggest increase in landlord interest, up from 28 per cent to 41 per cent. Detached houses are also more of a target for landlords, up from 9 per cent to 22 per cent.

Nigel Terrington, Chief Executive of the buy-to-let mortgage specialists, Paragon Group, said:

“Our report emphasises the fact that there is significantly more optimism amongst landlords in the private rented sector and the buy-to-let market, and that looks likely to increase during the coming quarters.”¹

So it comes as no surprise that more and more lenders and brokers are getting in on the action.

The number of B2L products has risen by 35 per cent over the last three months. There are currently 403 BTL products available compared to the 298 in April.

Brokers have also enjoyed an increase in buy-to-let business; Q2 saw a rise of 5.4 per cent in BTL activity.

The market is so strong that even newbie lenders are beginning to wade into the buy-to-let pool.

Yorkshire Building Society had launched a range of BTL products including a two year fixed rate at 4.29 per cent with a £995 fee up to 65 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) and a two year fixed rate at 4.59 per cent with a £995 fee up to 75 per LTV.

The launch is initially limited to just two brokers - London & Country and The Buy-to-Let Mortgage Business - and London and South Eastern properties only.

Jeremy Law, Head of Buy-to-Let at the Yorkshire said:

“Initially we plan to offer products for properties located in London and the South East to ensure a manageable entry into the market.

“But we hope to be able to extend our geographical spread later in the year once we have our operation up and running.”²

Watch this space.

Sources:
¹Mortgage Strategy (Aug 2011)
²Mortgage Strategy (Aug 2011)

Content correct at time of publication