Property prices 'hampering some landlords'
14th Nov 2011
Some UK landlords hoping to expand their portfolio are currently being hampered by property prices, according to one expert.
Julie Blakeman, an expert in property to rent, said most of the landlords she has spoken to are "sitting tight" at the moment.
Landlords who are on good variable rate mortgages are making more money now than they ever have been, but that does not mean they are going out and buying up as much property as they can, she explained.
"Prices are high and access to funding is limited. So, although most landlords are happy because their mortgages are low and tenant demand is high, landlords are not going out and buying up new rental properties because of funding and property prices," Ms Blakeman explained.
If a deal is "there to be had" landlords will take it, but finding those deals and getting the right funding is not easy at all at the moment, she explained.
However, the number of new buy-to-let loans increased by 16 per cent in the third quarter of 2011, according to the latest figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
The data also showed that the value of mortgages taken out by landlords grew by 19 per cent, meaning that the pick-up in buy-to-let mortgage uptake witnessed in Q2 is continuing.
© Zoopla Property Group Limited