Insurance News Archive

Buy-to-let on the up

The buy-to-let market got off to a positive start in the first quarter of the year, which is expected to be welcomed by property investors, according to latest research.

A survey by UCB Home Loans suggests that growing rents, higher yields, the demand for rented accommodation and increasing house prices have all helped create a healthy environment for landlords.

A separate report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders has discovered that demand for buy-to-let mortgages has experienced a positive result following an 18 per cent fall in the last half of 2004.

Demand for buy-to-let mortgages also fell by four per cent in the first six months of 2005.

"That situation has now dramatically turned about after a year when it looked as though interest in the market had peaked, we are now in the middle of a year of rapid expansion," explained UCB Home Loans managing director, Keith Astill.

The company is now predicting that a rental yield of five per cent can be expected as many first-time buyers are being forced to rent for longer due to high property prices.

25 May 2006