Research from CHL Mortgages suggests landlord optimism remains relatively unchanged over the last two six-monthly surveys.
A third of landlords said they intend to expand their portfolios in 2013, but 56% are content to sit tight and not buy or sell any properties in the coming 12 months. Less than 3% intend to reduce the size of their portfolios. The 33% planning to expand their portfolios represent a 2% increase from when the same question was posed in May 2012.
Looking back at 2012, nearly three-quarters (71%) of landlords didn’t buy or sell any investment properties, while 18% expanded their portfolios.
Property investors continue to view bricks and mortar as the investment class with the best outlook for the next three to five years, with 62% selecting it as the safest bet compared to stocks and shares, at 19% and cash with 7%.
Bob Young, managing director of CHL Mortgages, said:
“With nearly three-quarters of respondents upbeat about the buy-to-let sector’s prospects and a third planning to expand their portfolios, this is good news not just for brokers and lenders who operate in the buy-to-let market, but also for tenants who are struggling to find a suitable rental property as demand continues to outstrip supply. Given that less than a fifth of landlords expanded their portfolios in 2012, this suggests that the supply shortfall could start to be addressed as we head into 2013.”
He said the problems besieging the wider economy are highly unlikely to dissipate in 2013, but for the time being many buy-to-let landlords appear to be in a far stronger place than might have been anticipated a couple of years ago.
“Confidence often breeds success and, where the private rental market is concerned, buoyant sentiment is keeping the market very much afloat,” he added.
