BTL Buyers Return To Property Market

The housing market has been given a boost by buy-to-let (BTL) investors, with more landlords purchasing homes to rent out than over the last few years.

Recent research by Hamptons revealed 13.9 per cent of properties sold in the UK during the first quarter of 2022 were to BTL landlords. This is an increase from 12 per cent in the same period last year and represents the greatest proportion of BTL acquisitions since Q1 2016 when they bought 15.9 per cent of the housing stock available.

Head of research at Hamptons Aneisha Beveridge was reported by Buy Association as saying: “We expect investors to continue purchasing at around the same rate over the course of 2022.”

Buyers have turned to property over the last couple of years, with 42,980 homes purchased for BTL during the first three months of 2022 – almost twice as many during the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic.

This could be due to rental growth following the national lockdowns and a high investment yield to maximise their returns.

According to figures, 71 per cent of landlords purchased in the top 50 per cent of the highest yielding areas, an increase from 57 per cent in 2012.

Earlier this year, Hamptons reported property investors in London were increasingly looking at the north of England for their next purchase due to the high yields found there.

Nearly a third bought properties in the north, with the best yields found in Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and Birmingham. This is due to high rental demand and low house prices.

Property investors might also consider building homes from scratch, after the Office for National Statistics revealed the construction industry has bounced back lately, with output increasing by 12.9 per cent in 2021.

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