Growing Supply

 

It has recently been revealed that landlords are remortgaging as a means by which to fund further property investments as they try to keep up with high rental demand, and ultimately, cash in from a booming rental market.

Demand and Supply

This comes as good news to those seeking rented accommodation due to the fact that so far, demand has been extremely strong and competition for accommodation has been fierce across the UK due to low supply of rental properties.

The Director General of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), Paul Smee, has been quoted saying: “With tenant demand remaining strong in the rental sector, some existing buy-to-let landlords have been expanding their portfolios and the growth that returned to the sector in the preceding quarter has continued. The recovery of buy-to-let from its low point in 2009 has helped improve supply and choice in the rental market. Despite recent improvements, however, buy-to-let lending volumes are still only around one-third of their former peaks.”

You’ll have had to live under a rock in recent months to miss the news that there a very few buyers in the housing market at the moment which has led to an increasing number of people turning to rental properties.

Charles Haresnape, Managing Director of Aldermore Residential Mortgages, has commented: “The continued buoyancy of the buy-to-let sector is excellent news for landlords, lenders and intermediaries. It confirms that investor appetite for residential property remains strong, which has been fuelled by growing tenant demand. It does, however, underline the plight of many first-time buyers, who are being held-back because of their inability to raise sufficiently large deposits.”

New Investors

Whilst already existing landlords are expanding their portfolios, there are new investors being attracted to the rental market as they see a sure way to grab a good return on their investment. Landlords can come under a lot of flak from tenants, most of which is unnecessary, however, it will be vital for new landlords to ensure they are professional at all times and have all the correct particulars, including landlord insurance cover of course.

Living in rented accommodation, from a tenant’s point of view, can be very frustrating at times, however, if one cannot afford to buy yet, then there is really no other alternative. In the current economic climate, such a point of view could be music to a landlord’s ear.