UK buy to let still popular as an investment opportunity

Written by Editorial Team
Last updated: 27th May 2019

Buy-to-let mortgages are continuing to be a sought after financial product, with 4.8 million people in the UK demonstrating interest in the investment property market.

Despite the hardships that landlords have been dealing with in the recent years – from tax changes to rises in stamp duty, the property market is beginning to bounce back after the financial crisis lows. This is encouraging investors to snap up properties in the hope that its value will continue to increase.

A research study by Sainsbury’s Bank Mortgage validated that one in ten people in the UK were considering becoming a landlord in 2018.

The research looked at the 9% of people in the UK were potential buyers. Within this 9%, which equalled to around 4.8 million people, 35% of them were basing their decision on a change of income, 29% were influenced by opportunities that had risen in the investment market, and a further 25% were aiming to use their inheritance. Some remaining had found themselves being accidental landlords.

With the amount of prospective landlords growing, banks such as the Sainsbury’s bank have begun to release financial products which will offer buy-to-let mortgages for the first time. This allows for the market to grow, and more funding opportunities to become available to investors and potential buyers.

The research project is a follow up of a report by Sainsbury’s Bank Mortgages, which is providing more economic products, such as consumer buy-to-let mortgages. A number of these mortgages are seeing interest rate cuts from earlier in the month.

With its new mortgage range launching, companies such as Sainsbury’s Bank is reaching out to accidental landlords who are property owners which have been unable to sell a property due to the instability of the housing market, so they rent their house out and pay off monthly mortgage instalments using the rental income.

For buy to let mortgages where prospective new landlords can get finance advice see latest buy to let mortgage deals from UK lenders.