The boom in the rental sector shows no sign in slowing at the moment and in all corners of the UK property investors are purchasing landlord insurance as they continually look to expand their portfolios.
Change in demographics
The last six months has seen a dramatic change in the type of properties investors are looking to buy. For many years landlords have been associated with apartments, flats and large houses split up into Homes of Multiple Occupation (HMOs), however, the current financial climate has precipitated a movement into suburbia for many residential owners.
Homeowners struggling to sell
The reluctance of banks to loosen their purse strings and provide affordable mortgage deals to first time buyers has meant that many homes on traditional housing estates, where semi-detached and detached residences abound, are just not selling. Homeowners are being forced to bring the asking price of their property down and property investors are moving in on houses that have usually been the preserve of owner occupiers. The spring and summer of this year has seen many landlords take out property insurance on “family homes”.
Lender confirms the move
Statistics provided by buy-to-let lender Paragon back up the evidence coming from estate agencies. A survey of landlords who have mortgages with them revealed that many were looking to expand their portfolios this autumn. Four out of ten of landlords in this category said they were planning to buy a semi detached residence while 1 in 5 said they were planning to buy a detached home. The figures are double those of six months ago and further evidence of landlords moving into suburbia is gleaned from the fact that 50% of landlords now say they are renting their properties to family units.
Future looking good for private investors
There seems to be no visible end to the demand on landlords to provide private accommodation for tenants and while the debate on the cost of social housing continues and banks refuse to help out those looking to buy their own homes, property investors can look forward to increasing profits as their services become ever crucial to satisfying housing demand.