This increase in demand is leading to yield and rental growth, opening channels for landlords to grow their portfolios.
Research reveals that 28 per cent of landlords surveyed let property to immigrants in September, up from 17 per cent in May. The figure represents a sharp increase on the number recorded a year ago, when just 4.6 per cent of landlords let to the immigrant market.
The influx of people from EU accession states such as Poland and the Czech Republic is a major contributory factor. Mortgage Trust’s findings coincide with the Office for National Statistics raising its immigration projections. Official estimates are for a long-term net migration inflow of +190,000 each year, up from +145,000 in the previous projections.
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), only one in five long-term migrants purchases a property within five years of arriving in the UK.
John Heron, Mortgage Trust managing director, commented: "Buy-to-let will be underpinned by strong tenant demand over the medium to long-term. Indeed, this factor has already contributed to a 7 per cent increase in rents over the past year."
In areas of the country that have experienced a high influx of immigrants, the buy-to-let market has performed particularly well since 2004, when the fifth EU enlargement took place.
According to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, East Anglia has the highest number of registered immigrant workers, followed by the West Midlands, London and the North East. Year-on-year rental increases for these areas are 11.5 per cent, 16.2 per cent, 19.3 per cent and 14.4 per cent respectively.
