Landlords are increasingly upbeat about the outlook for the buy-to-let market in the UK, according to specialist lender CHL Mortgages.
In its latest regular survey of landlords, 72% of the 490 respondents said they were positive about the future of buy-to-let, up from a figure of 67% in summer 2011 and 64% 12 months earlier.
There was also a rise in the number of landlords who plan to buy more investment properties in the next 12 months, with 35% planning to make further acquisitions, up from 33% in the summer.
But those looking to purchase more property say they are still constrained by both a lack of available funding for both new purchases and remortgages (40%), plus the high deposit requirements (37%) that come with buy-to-let products.
Only 7% cite a lack of available stock as a reason why they are unable to purchase.
Landlords were also more positive about current demand for rental properties, with 47% suggesting it is now better than six months ago (up from 43% in the summer), with a significant 88% now saying the rental income they receive is sufficient to cover their mortgage payments, management and maintenance fees.
Bob Young, managing director at CHL Mortgages, said: “We normally only conduct our landlord survey every year.
“However we wanted to gauge whether the growing positivity we had witnessed during the summer had increased just three months later.
“Rental income levels are improving, as witnessed by the large number who now say they can cover all related outgoings with the rental payment.
“This figure has never been higher since we started the survey.”
Comments