Latest Insurance News
Buy to let insurance: Landlord confidence falls
01 Sep 2010
New figures have shown that landlords insurance customers are losing confidence in the market for the first time in almost two years.
Research published by the NLA has shown that this has fallen for the first time in two years as a result of cuts in housing benefits and a rise in capital gains tax (CGT).
In total, 54 per cent of landlords rated their prospects for the next quarter as either good or very good, although 40 per cent admitted that an increase in CGT would likely have a detrimental impact on their investment.
Chris Norris, policy manager at the NLA, said: "Landlord optimism has dropped from the first quarter of 2010 ... Furthermore, cuts to Local Housing Allowance is causing concern to many landlords as it could leave their tenants struggling to pay their rent."
He claimed that there is likely to be a strong rental demand in the near future as the economic uncertainty continues, with people holding off on making a decision about buying a property until the future is easier to predict.
Recent research published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that rents are rising as tenant demand is up and there is a shortage of housing.
Posted by Dan Winters
