Tenancy demand still strong, say landlords

Demand for private rented property remained high during the second quarter of the year, landlords have revealed.

Almost all of the landlords (93%) that took part in a survey commissioned by specialist buy-to-let lender Paragon said that tenant demand was either stable or growing.

In the next 12 months, most (86%) believe growth will continue to grow or at least remain stable, with just 6% saying it will decline. Those landlords surveyed also reported an increase in average rental yields, rising to 6.4% from 6.2% in Q1.

There was a sharp increase in buying intentions too, with 19% expecting to make property purchases.

John Heron, Paragon’s director of mortgages, said: “This long-running survey is designed to improve our understanding of changes in landlord sentiment, motivation and outlook, and the second quarter results paint a picture of a strong, confident and growing market.

“Landlords are consistently seeing strong rental demand, and on the back of better availability of buy-to-let mortgages they are planning to buy more property, which should improve the supply of property to tenants, thus easing some of the pressure that has been building.

Peter Lawrence at Lawrence Rand added: “Tenant demand continues to remain high, and I expect this will remain strong for the foreseeable future as we wait for more significant improvements in the wider housing market and for the various Government schemes to take hold and have an impact.”