Landlords across the country received £111.5 billion total annual returns from their properties in the past twelve months, which was £5.8 billion more than a year ago.
Rents accounted for £44.3 billion of the total annual returns, while capital gains brought £67.2 billion, the second edition of Kent Reliance’s Buy To Let Britain report shows.
At the end of March 2015, the total value of property owned by UK landlords amounted to £990.7 billion, up by 11 per cent year-on-year.
The private rented sector (PRS) in the country has grown tremendously since the turn of the century and its value now equates 43.1 per cent of the value of the British stock market. This proportion was only 12.2 per cent fifteen years ago.
The PRS grew at a very fast pace in the past year as well, expanding by 150,000 households. Rented homes now represent almost three-quarters (77.4 per cent) of new households created across all tenures.
In light of this rapid expansion, Kent Reliance projects that the PRS will grow to 5.5 billion households by 2020, from 4.8 billion now.
Andy Golding, chief executive of OneSavings Bank, which trades under the Kent Reliance and InterBay brands in buy to let, comments:
“Landlords are seeing the benefit of a structural change in Britain’s housing market, with tenant demand ever strengthening. Yes, house prices are showing signs of steadying somewhat, but growth remains brisk.
“Supporting the growth in the number of experienced landlords with growing portfolios is crucial to providing the investment necessary in the sector to match demand. The mortgage market is playing its part, with remortgaging vibrant, and an increasing array of second charge options to suit landlords’ needs.”