Trump’s tariffs and restrictive buy-to-let rules may deter some would-be landlords and property investors, but Hiten Ganatra thinks there are some great opportunities within this market. Here’s why he thinks now is the time to buy…
Many property investor clients have asked me over recent months, ‘is now a good time to buy?’ My response is always ‘yes’. Let me explain why.
Firstly, the number of rental homes available across the UK has dropped by 18% compared to last year and is now 23% below pre-pandemic levels, according to TwentyEA .
In addition, the number of properties being sold by landlords is significantly rising, with 15.6% of all new instructions in Quarter One (Q1) 2025 having been previously-rented homes, a significant increase from 9.8% in Q1 2024, analysis from TwentyEA has shown.
New instructions for Q1 2025 totalled 451,154 – of these, 70,542 or 15.6% were prior rentals.
Despite hundreds of pieces of legislation being put in place by successive governments, it’s clear that although some smaller investors have – or are deciding to – sell up, experienced portfolio investors are broadly undeterred and sense an opportunity.
Investment value – location and property type
In general, landlords are seeing more value in second hand and older stock, rather than new build, where you have the ‘new build premium’.
The landlords I speak to are saying, ‘let’s acquire these properties and make them fit for purpose so that we can get long term tenancies secured in and around London’. The same will apply for most urban areas around the UK.
Also, the North is attracting many investors, as the yields and numbers are far greater. London seems to have its headwinds when it comes to asset values, rents and local authority restrictions.
Let’s face it, London has over 30 different local authorities and so 30 different rules – if you’ve got one property in one local authority and others in another it creates added complexity. The numbers are far better generally the further north you go.
The challenge, when you’re looking at properties with lower value, is the looming energy efficiency regulations. Indeed, upgrading some properties to an EPC rating of C or above could prove costly. As an example, a £15,000 retrofit spend on a property worth only £100,000 might not be a sound investment.
Opportunities for pension savers
Another opportunity is within the pension space. There’s a lot of talk about the government taxing pensions in a different way and making it part of an estate.
As such, for those with a sizeable pension pot who can make the drawdown of 25%, property investment is an option, especially as there is talk of the government reducing the maximum which can be drawn down to £100,000.
Obviously, there’s a lot of money sitting within pension funds. And if the tax rules change, it could make buy-to-let even more attractive.
Let’s face it with property, you can touch and feel the investment and with pensions, the rules can change, which means you’ve very little control of the outcome.
The impact of Trump’s tariffs on property investment
We haven’t even touched upon tariffs and the prospect of ongoing global turmoil. In my view UK property has very few rivals in terms of returns, as well as future asset growth and I see no reason to change this view.
There are many buy-to-let and bridging finance lenders competing against one another, and this is keeping rates and criteria competitive. They recognise that property investment is a low arrears sector with minimal risk.
Is it more complex than a few years ago, yes. However, we are still seeing new landlords build portfolios and despite the negativity around landlords and property investment, now is definitely a good time to buy.
Hiten Ganatra is managing director at Visionary Finance
