Mark Long, director of the agency said: “This is the highest level we have seen of portfolio landlords making a loss, and the biggest increase between one quarter and another.
“In previous waves of research the highest figure of loss making for this group was 4% in Q3 2009. Some landlords are clearly feeling the pinch.”
Nevertheless, landlord sentiment remained upbeat, with 80% of respondents remaining positive about the prospects for the private rental sector.
BDRC Continental said this could be down to a drop in the number of landlords reporting a recent void period on their property from 41% in Q3 2011 to 36% in Q4 2011.
It added that while portfolio landlords reaped the highest rental yields at 7%, average rental yields for all landlords fell in Q4 2011, down to 5.9% from 6.7% in Q3 2011.
In separate research conducted by online lettings agent Upad, it found that around 70% of landlords were more or less confident about the market.
Respondents highlighted rising tenant demand, high rents and reduced housing stock as the main reasons for boosting their assurance in the buy-to-let market.
James Davis, CEO of Upad said: “As more and more people choose to rent and with an estimated double-digit increase in the number of people who will choose to become “professional tenants” this year, landlord confidence in 2012 is on the up.”
