Buy to let mortgage applications grow in regions outside London

Specialist buy to let lender Commercial Trust claims at least two other regions of the UK are now vying with London in terms of applications from investment landlords.

The firm says it saw a 3.4 per cent rise in applications from the south east of England in 2017, narrowing the market-share gap between itself and London to just 0.3 per cent.

The north west of England was another region to do particularly well in the report, up 3.1 per cent from 2016, followed by the north east which was up 0.9 per cent. 

The figures maintained recent trends which have seen both regions increase their market share year-on-year since 2015; Yorkshire and Humber was another region to increase its market share for new purchases.

“The traditional dominance of London as a hub for buy to let investment has undoubtedly shifted somewhat during 2017” says Andrew Turner, chief executive at Commercial Trust.

“There is a growing trend for people looking to rent outside central London, to places with good transport links, but where rental prices are lower. This is creating reinvigorated demand in the south east from commuters, while for investors, property prices here are slightly less prohibitive than in London.

However, higher upfront costs and lower anticipated capital growth, ahead of the Brexit outcome, are likely to be contributory to investor reticence in the capital, he claims.

“When you factor in the vast sums of government investment in places like Hull, Manchester and Liverpool, you get a picture of thriving local economies offering people work opportunities and a lower cost of living than the capital. This is leading to internal migration to these industry hubs and is in turn developing increased demand in the private rental sector prompting some landlords to identify investable regions.”