The tenant referencing firm said the continuation of low interest rates and the gradual easing of lending restrictions by financial institutions have seen many buy-to-let investors return to the marketplace to expand their portfolios.
Landlord Assist landlords said they were buying at a significant discount to the 2007 peak.
Graham Kinnear, managing director at Landlord Assist, said: “There are few tangible investments at present which can offer growth, income and a positive hedge against inflation quite like the buy-to-let market.
“Investors have taken advantage of weak prices and strong rental returns over the past year and with the base rate unlikely to increase anytime soon the good news for landlords is that they can enjoy the favourable conditions for sometime yet.”
Demand for private rented properties is set to remain strong for the foreseeable future as more and more people are now choosing to rent than ever before.
This has been caused by a lack of mortgage availability for homebuyers in the residential mortgage sector and the difficulty for would-be buyers to raise large deposits imposed by lenders.
Subsequently many tenants are renting for longer periods than they initially envisaged, thereby providing landlords with greater security.
Stephen Parry, commercial director at Landlord Assist, said this expansion of the rented sector had helped to make finance much more accessible to landlords.
He said: “Strong demand for rented properties has helped to renew the interests of banks and building societies in this sector. This has led to an increase in the number of buy-to-let products aimed at investors and more importantly, better competitive rates.”
Kinnear added: “For landlords looking to expand their portfolios now is the perfect time to capitalise on high demand, low supply stock and low interest rates. With the rented sector predicted to represent 25% of housing stock over the next few years it could be an ideal long term investment.”
