Majority of landlords cautiously optimistic
A clear majority of residential landlords in the UK are expressing greater confidence in the state of the buy-to-let sector and their level of optimism has increased over the past four weeks. According to statistics compiled by rental website Upad, 57 percent of landlords surveyed felt more optimistic about the prospects of their buy-to-let business and investment at the start of February than they did in January. Upad’s chief executive officer, James David, noted that his company has now tracked three straight months during which a majority of landlords were cautiously upbeat about the direction of the rental market. Davis believes that the sector may have finally “turned a corner” and a more meaningful recovery may begin in the foreseeable future, when banks start offering a greater variety of loan products and as renting becomes increasingly popular among those seeking new, more flexible forms of accommodation.
But Upad’s survey also found that landlords remain acutely aware of some of the pressing challenges in the buy-to-let sector. Very near the top of the list of concerns is the fact that high levels of unemployment in the UK are in direct correlation with tenants falling into rental arrears. Some people were also worried about the impact that interest rate hikes might have on landlords who have been able to weather the financial storm until now in part thanks to historically low rates. Yet amidst some of this concern, there is also a realization that specific sectors of the market are likely to perform better than others, with some observers indicating that demand for lower end, budget properties will be especially high.