Published on : Sat, 29 Oct 2005 09:48GMT
by : Paul Dyson

LONDON - Buy to let properties continued to be in great demand in the third quarter of the year with landlords displaying more confidence as the demand for rental property surged ahead, according to the latest buy-to-let Confidence Survey from Mortgage Express.

Mortgage Express, which is the specialist-lending arm of Bradford & Bingley, said that 87 percent of respondents in the survey are planning to either retain or extend their portfolio over the next six months. Meanwhile the survey also found that 81 percent of the landlords surveyed are of the opinion that the demand for rental property is either increasing or is at the same level. The demand for the rental properties surged by 3 percent since last quarter.

91 percent of landlords reported that rents had increased or stayed the same. "It’s encouraging to note that our borrowers believe that demand for rental properties remains strong. This point is reflected in our own economic analysis which shows increased demand for buy to let loans in general," said Andrew Moss, product development manager for Mortgage Express.

He added that the lowering of the interest rates had boosted the sector. "Looking ahead to 2006, the A-Day pension changes (allowing buy to let property to be included in personal pension funds) should also further help strengthen the market even further," he observed.

73 percent of those surveyed said that they did not experience any voids, while out of those that did 35 percent said that the void periods were less than four weeks. 87 percent of customers say that the void period will decrease over the next six months.

As far as the favored location for buy to let property was concerned, the South led the way with 58 percent followed by Wales and the Midlands with 26 percent and Scotland and the North with 21 percent.