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London and South East Create Strong Start to the Year for Buy to Let Market
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
According to data from Commercial Trust, the specialist buy to let broker, the BTL market in London has seen a strong start to the year. This is after a reasonably quiet final quarter of 2017.
This latest report shows the rise in mortgage applications from BTL investors, with it being the first increase since the second quarter of last year. The data shows an increase from 12.4% in Q4 of 2017, to 16.5% in Q1 of 2018.
Overall, we can see that top of the table for growth is still the South East, with an individual market share increase from 17.2% in Q4 2017, to 19.2% in Q1 of 2018.
However, looking at the biggest improvement within the market, the East Midlands is the clear winner, which saw a 5% escalation during the first three months of the year.
Progress has also been made within Scotland and Wales over the same period, with an increase of almost 2%.
Andrew Turner, chief executive at Commercial Trust Limited, has commented: “From our latest quarterly data, it is clear that property investment in London and the South East is very much alive and kicking – and if anything, growing.
“The report perhaps also reflects the effect of the introduction of the 3% stamp duty surcharge in April 2016, which of course would have been more keenly felt by investors in the more expensive properties found in this part of the country.
“London and the South East remain regions of high demand for rental property and a recent article from City AM indicated that property prices in the capital have continued to fall, perhaps creating something of a buyers’ market for investors.
“I think the data also reflects a regained sense of confidence in London and the South East, among landlords with capital to spend.
“Similarly, the North West continues to see significant infrastructure investment and projects like HS2 will have the potential to further enhance opportunities for economic development in the long term. This in turn may attract more businesses, creating jobs, migration and further rental demand, whilst at the same time potentially contributing to property price growth.”
