This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
New figures seem to suggest a growing number of over 65s are buy-to-let landlords.
Rise
Rise in Retiree Landlords
Statistics from insurers Simply Business assessed in excess of 300,000 landlord insurance quotes. Their findings indicate that retiree landlords were up 11% this year to date, in comparison to 2011 and up 33% since 2009.[1]
The figures indicated a rise in the number of female over 65s renting properties, with a rise of 43% in comparison to 2009.[1] Many elderly people are choosing to let out their previous homes, due to the poor state of the housing market. With property becoming increasingly difficult to sell, more and more people chose to keep their existing property when downsizing.
Single properties
A very large majority, 93%, of pensioner landlords own just a single rental property. Findings from Simply Business also suggest that 74% of retirees have let out their property for in excess of three years.
At the other end of the rental scale, the number of landlords aged between 18-25 has fallen by 38% during the past three years.
The CEO of Simply Business, Jason Stockwood, said that it was unsurprising that more people were choosing to rent out their properties. Stockwood expressed: “In today’s economic climate, choosing to rent out your property rather than sell immediately has been a good option for many when looking to move, and with the current squeeze on pensions, this is proving a good source of income for people of retirement age.”[1]
He went on to say: “Buy-to-let can be a tough marketplace to enter,” but there is “a great deal of support available for those looking to take the plunge.” This in turn has led to a number of accidental landlords choosing to stay in the market for longer and continue to make financial gains.
[1] http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Sharp-rise-in-pensioner-age-landlords
