The Mortgage Express report provides an insight into the buy-to-let sector by canvassing respondents on key issues, such as demand for rental property, void periods, and arrears.
Key findings of the report are:
Demand for rental property: demand for rental property has steadily increased over the past year. 45% of respondents in this quarter believe that rental demand is increasing, with 40% saying they think it will remain the same.
Void periods: There appears to be no significant change in the length of void periods, with only 6% saying they had increased in the last six months, 86% saying they had stayed the same and 7% saying they had actually decreased.
During this period, 63% of respondents had no void periods and 24% had 1-4 weeks. 12% of respondents met remortgage payments for void periods from surplus payments from that property, 8% met them from surplus rent from other properties, 24% from savings and 3% from a mix of the above. 54% said they did not have void periods.
These results suggest that void periods are not an issue, and that the few who did experience them were able to cope.
Regional trends: When asked about where they were thinking of buying, 13% of respondents said they were considering buying in Wales, 28% the North West, 17% the North East, 13% the Midlands, 2% Anglia, 19% the South East, 11% in the South West, 4% in Scotland, and 6% abroad. Clearly, the North West of England has become the most popular area for buy-to-let investors.
Landlords: 68% of buy-to-let landlords are male and 32% are female.
Roger Hillier, product development manager at Mortgage Express, said: ‘‘The report shows that demand for rental property is strong and void periods remain low. There has been some talk lately that the so-called buy-to-let ‘bubble’ is about to burst. Contrary to these rumours, the evidence clearly shows that the buy-to-let market continues to be healthy’’.
