Almost two-thirds (63%) of existing landlords, responding to a major Property Investor Show survey of property investors, have declared their intentions to re-mortgage within the next 12 months. In contrast, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders only 15% of all residential mortgage holders over the past year have re-mortgaged. This implies that investor landlords are much more prone to take advantage of the latest cut-price mortgage offers.
If investor landlords carry out their intentions then £30 billion buy-to-let loans will be remortgaged over the next year which represents a quarter of the £122 billion total expected annual remortgaging for this year (source: CML).
Mr Schuman (aged 35, married with 2 children) a chartered professional surveyor is a typical case in question. His own property company, Magnet Properties, has 12 properties which, until earlier this year were financed by a large fixed rate mortgage of 8%. He comments:
“As soon as my fixed rate deal finished, I immediately searched the market and found an excellent offer from Paragon Mortgages. The rate of 4.8% saved me over £3000 per month.
“As an astute landlord with a watchful eye on my outgoings, I will continue to monitor rates, and will not hesitate to switch to a better rate or more flexible deals when they become available.”
Future Expansion of Buy-to-Let
A massive 82% of existing landlords plan to purchase at least one further property over the coming months, growing their existing portfolios. Furthermore, 27% indicated that they had multiple planned purchases. Not surprisingly 84% expected the buy-to-let market to continue to grow over the next 12 months.
Properties that landlords are most likely to buy for rent, in order of desirability:
Type of Property Desirable score (1-10)
Apartment without a garden 10
Apartment with a garden 6
Terraced House 3
Maisonette 1.5
Penthouse apartment 1
Semi detached house 0.5
Detached house 0
[key: 10 = most desirable 0 = least desirable]
The main reason for the preference in favour of apartments is that they are easier to rent (being appealing to students, young buyers who can’t afford their own homes, and young childless couples).
Nick Clark, Director of the Property Investor Show comments:
“Our survey shows that confidence in the buy-to-let market remains strong with the vast majority of landlords predicting continuing growth, in both property prices and market size. The general mood of confidence in the market is reflected in by the size of this year’s Property Investor Show which is 40% bigger than the 2003 show, making it the number one event for anyone interested in putting their money into property”.
