Positive Buy-to-Let predictions

The latest quarterly survey by Paragon Mortgages has revealed that 93 percent of landlords intend to hold on to their current properties.  14 percent stated plans to buy more investment property.

The average number of properties owned by a landlord increased from 11 at the start of 2007, to 12 in the third quarter of this year.

John Heron, Managing Director of Paragon Mortgages commented: 

"Interestingly, landlords have not generally seen falling house prices as the catalyst to sell property and have used weaker prices to add to their portfolios.

"Property investment is not a short-term game and professional landlords have a long-term view - they are prepared to ride-out fluctuations in house prices as the long-term performance of property versus other asset classes is excellent."

The predicted 0.8 percent average increase in portfolio value is, according to these figures, the first positive prediction since the first quarter of 2007.

"House prices have fallen steadily since the end of 2007 and this is reflected in landlords' expectations for the future value of their portfolios. It is an encouraging sign that they expect the value of their portfolios to increase over the coming months."

Stephen Ludlow, Managing Director of ludlowthompson comments: "ludlowthompson's recent 6-monthly landlord survey agrees with the findings of Paragon. Our findings, to be published shortly, show that landlords' confidence in the market has increased."