Friday News#076 – 25th of September 2020
Earlier this week the UK government put in place new measures in an effort to curb the rise in COVID-19 cases, encouraging working from home where possible. The Treasury also announced that the autumn budget had been cancelled, stating “now is not the right time to outline long-term plans – people want to see us focused on the here and now.”
The property market remains busy and there’s been a notable rise in first-time landlords entering the market. Recognising the present opportunity, seasoned investors are also active and looking for new areas to purchase buy-to-let property as tenant demand shifts to alternative locations.
Here’s what we’ve seen in the news:
Spike in demand from first-time landlords: From accidental landlords to those wanting to embark on buy-to-let as a business, renting out property can be extremely rewarding, and that may be why new figures suggest that an increasing number of first-time buyers are looking to invest in the buy-to-let market. Fresh data provided by Legal & General shows that searches for its SmartrCriteria tool designed for first-time buyer, first-time landlord, and non-owner occupier have increased by 18% since the start of September. Read more.
Where is currently the most profitable city for BTL? As pent-up demand and the stamp duty holiday drive house prices to an all-time high, new research reveals the most profitable buy-to-let hotspots where UK landlords should focus their attention should they wish to take advantage of this. Newly released data from CIA Landlord has revealed the cities with the cheapest average house prices compared to the average rental cost to uncover the best cities and house types to invest in before stamp duty holiday ends in March 2021. Read more.
BTL landlords ‘can start to take action’ following end of the evictions ban: The six-month tenant eviction ban, which finally ended yesterday, has helped renters that are suffering financial difficulty, but it has also left landlords powerless to take action against renters committing domestic abuse or making the lives of fellow tenants or neighbours a misery. Read more.
August property transactions continue to lag behind 2019 levels: There were 16.3% fewer UK property transactions in August compared to the same period in 2019, HMRC statistics show. There were 81,280 residential property transactions in August, which still represented an increase of 15.6% from July 2020. Read more.
Why are investors still active during a recession? In a series of videos, each of the team members gives their view on why investors are active in a recession. Watch the videos on our YouTube channel.
