Landlords eye expansion as BTL market stays strong

More than a quarter of landlords are looking to expand their property portfolios in 2024 because the UK’s buy to let (BTL) market is resilient, a study reveals.

The survey by Butterfield Mortgages questioned 2,000 UK adults about their BTL plans and found that 26% of them want to buy more properties in the next 12 months.

Just 7% intend to sell some or all of their holdings.

Most landlords (67%) are happy with the size of their portfolios and do not plan to make any changes soon.

‘Speculation has been rife that landlords will quit the BTL market’

The lender’s chief executive, Alpa Bhakta, said: “For the best part of a decade, speculation has been rife that landlords will quit the BTL market in their thousands.

“However, our data is the latest to challenge such predictions, showing that the vast majority of private landlords remain committed to either maintaining or growing the size of their property portfolios.”

He added: “It underlines the enduring appeal of BTL as an asset class, even despite added costs and regulatory complications for many.”

Landlords are coping with the recent rise in interest rates

The survey also shows that landlords are coping with the recent rise in interest rates, which have increased the cost of borrowing and servicing mortgages.

Only 49% of landlords said they found this a challenge, and 37% of them raised their tenants’ rent in the last year to offset the higher expenses.

However, 62% of landlords are reluctant to raise rents as tenants face a cost-of-living crisis.

Despite this, 69% landlords say they will put up rents as interest rates and mortgage repayments increases level off.

This will, the lender says, see improved rental yields over the coming months.