By Lois Avery
Buy-to-let mortgage lending could be on the up as landlords make the most of increasing demand from tenants.
A new survey from LSL Property Services has revealed that 48 per cent of landlords think now is a good time to invest in property, and almost three-quarters of landlords polled said they are planning to maintain or expand the size of their portfolios over the next twelve months.
Landlords' confidence in the buy-to-let market has risen as a result of growing demand for rental property, with 50 per cent of landlords seeing an increase in the number of people who want to let a home during the three months to the end of October. And 69 per cent expect demand to continue to grow during the coming year.
This contributed to rents reaching a record high in September, of £689 per month, following eight consecutive months of rises.
David Newnes, estate agency managing director of LSL said the restrictions on mortgage lending mean more people are renting for longer.
He added: “The private rented sector is crying out for more investment to meet the boom in tenant demand and landlords hoping to expand their portfolios will be relying on an improvement in lending conditions.
“More lenders are now starting to enter the market, which should mean there are more affordable products available to landlords.”
However, he stressed that despite the boom in the buy-to-let market, overall lending is not expected to loosen significantly in the next couple of years.
