Buy-to-let remains strong in UK

Friday, 2 November 2007 12:00 AM

Buy-to-let investor confidence is high, with 64 per cent of investors believing the base rate has already peaked.

As a consequence up to 76 per cent of investors think now is a good time to purchase property, up from 72 per cent in September, according to research released by Property for Life.

"No matter what the critics say, the buy-to-let market remains buoyant," said David Austin, managing director of Property for Life.

"The belief among investors that the base rate has peaked appears to have led to an increased feeling of security, prompting a greater percentage to be confident that now is still a good time to buy investment property."

The Bank of England has maintained interest rates at a level of 5.75 per cent for the past three months, with a further hold expected on November 8th.

At present 52 per cent of buy-to-letters are feeling the pinch of interest rates.

However, 54 per expect the base rate to fall in the coming twelve months.

"As always, some areas of the market are fairing better than others, but seasoned landlords will know where best to invest and will be in it for the long term to take advantage of high tenant demand and strong returns," continued Mr Austin.

However, few investors are expecting prices to increase in the next 12 months.

Only 38 per cent of investors expect prices to increase over the next year, down from 48 per cent in September.

"Despite some believing that house prices may decrease over the next 12 months, investors are not being dissuaded from expanding their portfolios, optimistic that prices will resume their upward path in the near future," concluded Mr Austin.

Tags:
• uk property news