Quarterly buy-to-let confidence report

The report provides an authoritative insight into the sector by canvassing respondents on key buy-to-let issues.

The findings reveal that despite a small fall in demand for buy-to-let, the overall confidence in the market remains strong.

Key findings for the second quarter of 2004 are:

42% of respondents believe that demand for rental property has remained the same and 36% believe it is increasing. 16% of respondents believe that demand is decreasing, an increase from 10% in the first quarter.

There was no increase in tenants in arrears from the first quarter.

78% of respondents had not experienced any void periods in their properties over the past six months. Of those who did experience void periods, 83% lasted under four weeks.

Looking forward, 51% of respondents said they intended to keep their portfolio at its current level over the next six months, and 40% stated their intention to increase their portfolio.

Roger Hillier, product development manager at Mortgage Express, says: ‘‘There has been a small drop in demand for buy-to-let, but void periods have remained low and most investors have said they will maintain or increase their current portfolio. This suggests that the market is inherently stable, and the long-term outlook for buy-to-let remains strong’’.