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Professionals dominate buy-to-let sector
1 May 2008 11:30
Buy-to-let investment is increasingly the domain of experienced landlords, according to a new survey of brokers, as the proportion of new buyers in the market continues to drop.
Back in March, the Association of Residential Letting Agents reported that nearly half of all investment landlords planned to make further purchases over the ensuing 12 months, with investors typically expecting to hold individual properties for a span of 17 years.
Now Paragon's new poll has underlined this tendency, with brokers claiming that almost half of all landlords taking out buy-to-let mortgages for the three months to the end of February were remortgaging, while one in three were doing so for further acquisitions.
By contrast, less than one in six buy-to-let mortgages went to first-time investors, compared to two out of five in May 2001, although Paragon chief executive Nigel Terrington stated that there were still opportunities open to these buyers.
Nonetheless, he noted that professional landlords now dominate the buy-to-let sector and asserted that, despite difficult current conditions, they remain in a strong position and invest for the long-term, with some opportunistically adding to their portfolios.
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