You may be forgiven for thinking, with Covid restrictions now eased and holidaymakers flocking overseas this year, that the heat had come out of the holiday let market.
But new data from specialist lender, Hampshire Trust Bank, has found the holiday rental market is remaining popular with investors this summer.
A webinar poll of brokers found more than half (55%) had worked on a successful application for a holiday let case in the last year.
Meanwhile, 84% said they had received more holiday let enquiries since the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and 48% had even seen more enquiries since restrictions were lifted earlier in the year.
Louisa Sedgwick, managing director, specialist mortgages at Hampshire Trust Bank, said: “These findings show there is still significant demand for holiday let mortgages. The staycation boom we witnessed during the pandemic shows little sign of abating in the short-term.
“The fact that almost half of brokers taking part in the webinar have seen an increase in enquiries since Covid restrictions were lifted clearly indicates the strength of demand for holiday let mortgages in the UK.”
What are the most popular holiday-let locations?
The brokers were also asked by Hampshire Trust Bank what the most popular regions in the UK for holiday let enquiries were over the past 12 months.
For 54% or respondents, the South West of England – which includes places such as Cornwall and Devon – was the most popular location, followed by Cumbria and the Lake District (26%), the South Coast (23%) and East Anglia (14%).
How does holiday let income compare to standard buy-to-let?
Meanwhile, separate research published today by Revolution Brokers, revealed on average a holiday let will pull in a monthly rental income of £972, which a 29.4% premium compared to a regular rental home.
However, at an average of £353,015, the initial cost of investing in a holiday let home is over £30,000 higher than the average rental property.
Despite this higher initial cost, the current average yield of a holiday home sits at 3.3%, 0.5% more than the average of 2.8% for a property within the traditional rental sector.
It found Worthing in Sussex was the place where the highest holiday let rental price premiums could be achieved. Here the average rental income of £1,530 per month for a holiday let is 72.3% higher than a regular rental property.
Porthcawl in the South of Wales also ranked high with holiday let rental price premium of 70.5%, followed by Llandudno in North Wales (65.6%), Bakewell in the Peak District (44.8%) and Southsea in Hampshire (44.3%).
