This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Fresh research from the Legal & General Mortgage Club has revealed that a number of brokers believe that the North of England will become a hotspot for landlords over the course of the next year.
Those brokers attending the Legal & General Mortgage Club’s recent buy-to-let forum event were quizzed on the development of the buy-to-let market. This followed the series of legislation changes that came into force in the last twelve months.
Streamlining
As a consequence of the legislation changes, 69% of brokers feel that landlords will look to streamline their portfolios. Many will look to sell properties with lower yields, while 45% feel that buy-to-let investors will turn their attention to university towns and student accommodation.
Jeremy Duncombe, Director at the Legal & General Mortgage Club, observed: ‘Over the past 12 months, the buy-to-let market has experienced a myriad of legislative changes. Today’s research from Legal & General Mortgage Club’s inaugural buy-to-let forum shows one of the impacts of these developments, with developers looking North for value. Landlords are resourceful and this demonstrates the resilience of the market, despite many changes.’[1]
‘The last year has been a particularly challenging year for buy-to-let. The Stamp Duty hike, coupled with the changes to tax and the PRA legislation affecting landlords with four or more properties, has undoubtedly impacted the purchase market in particular. However, it is reassuring to see that confidence in this essential tenure remains as landlords respond and adapt to this new landscape,’ he added.[1]
This report marries up with a separate one from Barclays released yesterday, which again highlights northern locations as the most popular for investors moving forwards.
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/the-north-predicted-to-become-a-btl-hotspot.html