For those landlords wanting to stay abreast of the latest developments in the private rental sector, running a business means staying in full possession of the facts shaping the buy to let environment.
So, here are some snippets of news about those latest developments.
FTB’s make up the biggest part of the UK property market over 2 decades
For the first time in 23 years, first time buyers have become the biggest players in the UK property market, according to Property Wire on the 25th of February.
First time buyers were responsible for 372,000 purchases in 2018, accounting for more than 50% of all transactions involving a mortgage, an increase of 38% in the past ten years – and the last time the proportion of first time buyers was so high was in 1995.
The cost of the average first home has also risen by 39% – to £212,473 in 2018, up from £153,030 yen years ago.
The typical first time buyer’s deposit has also increased by 57% – to £33,252 in 2018, from £21,133 in 2008.
Tenants cause £6,000 worth of damage
Not all landlords are fortunate enough to find tenants who treat their property with the respect it deserves.
A landlord in Newport, South Wales, took repossession of his property only to be faced with an estimated bill of £6,000 to clean up what the letting agents described as “absolute filth”, reported the Mirror newspaper on the 22nd of February.
Rubbish was strewn about the house, kitchen units were broken, cigarette ash everywhere – including the mattresses – bedding had been stuffed in the bath and the smell of the place was overwhelming. The back garden resembled a junkyard.
The house has had to be boarded up before it can be thoroughly cleaned and let to new tenants. The landlord believed that the previous tenant caused the damage maliciously after being ordered to quit the property by a court repossession order – there is no chance of his contributing to the cost of cleaning and repairs.
Landlords have the choice of 2,150 buy-to-let mortgages
If you are a landlord or prospective landlord and looking for a buy to let mortgage, Letting Agent Today had good news for you on the 26th of February when it revealed that there are currently a staggering 2,162 different buy-to-let mortgage products available on the market.
Landlords have not had such a wide choice of buy to let mortgages since at least October 2007.
Although competition in the marketplace is probably responsible for the increased range of products, interest rates for two-year fixed-rate buy to let mortgages have increased steadily by 0.2% – to an average of 3.12% – since September 2018. Five year fixed rate products have increased by an average 0.15% over the same period.
Rents increasing for the first time since September 2018
After a period during which rent levels had held reasonably steady, many tenants are now facing rent increases, warned Landlord Today on the 26th of February.
Amongst a survey of letting agents, it was found that 26% of landlords were seeking rent increases, compared to just 18% of them in December, in a first round of rent increases since September last year.
The increases come despite a growth in the supply of rental housing stock, but this has also been accompanied by an increase in the number of tenants looking for accommodation.
