Buy-to-let
While 45 per cent of brokers questioned said they expected professional landlords to maintain their portfolios, the majority of intermediaries, 49 per cent, said they expected professional investors to acquire new properties this year. This figure is up from 44 per cent when the same research was carried out six months ago, suggesting as buy to let investors continue to ride out the credit crunch, intermediaries are becoming increasingly positive about their prospects. Only 6 per cent of respondents said professional landlords were likely to sell some of their portfolio, down from 12 per cent of brokers who predicted investors offloading property six months ago.
In contrast, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of brokers who feel amateur landlords will not acquire new properties, with 82 per cent of intermediaries saying they do not expect these investors to make purchases, up from 62 per cent six months ago.
Commenting on the findings, Andy McQueen, managing director of The Mortgage Works, said: "Increasingly we are seeing it is the attitude of professional investors, rather than the number of properties they hold, which determines their success and longevity in this market, and these findings suggest brokers too differentiate greatly between professional and amateur investors. True professional landlords understand the property market, the needs of their target customers and the tax and financial implications of running a buy to let business. They are also more focused on building high yielding businesses, as opposed to seeking short-term capital appreciation, and so are excellently placed to not only withstand, but prosper during, the current market."
