First-time buyers make the move to property investing

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Growing numbers of first-time buyers bought properties to rent out last year as the stamp duty holiday prompted more would-be landlords to make investments.

New research from conveyancing solicitor Bird & Co found that while 71% of its clients in 2021 across England and Wales were first-time buyers, between 10 to 20% of those who aimed to become landlords were new to the market. The firm says it’s unclear whether these buyers planned to let the property out as in part or whole, or as a holiday let, adding: “What we also don’t know is whether these first-timer buyers are living at home still, or are able to rent a property whilst also letting another property out…but it is interesting to see that some first-time buyers are in this fortunate position to begin making money as a landlord.”

Stamp Duty Holiday

Its analysis of more than 1,300 transactions in its client enquiries database also found that the majority of home buyers in 2021 were landlords, who had benefited the most from the Stamp Duty Holiday; an average of 58% of buyers who enquired were not buying the property as their main residence, a marked change from 2020, where 35% of buyers were in this position.

In Q1 and Q2 of 2021, 87% of Bird and Co clients and around a quarter in Q3 and Q4 were looking to buy properties as a second residence. It adds: “These statistics show that the buy-to-let sector has continued to hold up during the pandemic. If anything, the pandemic, which spurred the Stamp Duty Holiday, has benefited landlords.”

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Council plans licensing fee incentive to reward landlords

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Ashfield District Council plans to drastically reduce fees to reward good landlords if its renewed selective licensing scheme gets the go-ahead.

It has just launched a consultation to repeat the scheme across all rental properties in the Sutton Central (New Cross) and Stanton Hill areas of the Nottinghamshire authority and suggests discounting the £350 licence fee by £100 throughout the five years for those landlords who belong to an accreditation scheme.

Early bird offer

Stacy White, team manager for environmental health, tells LandlordZONE: “In our last designation we did offer this discount but only for the first three months of the scheme – a sort of early bird offer. This time we have considered landlords who may purchase within the five years of the scheme and feel that the offer should be open to any landlord regardless of when they need to apply for a licence.”

In nearby Nottingham, licensing fees for its additional and mandatory schemes are much heftier at £1,330, reduced to £990 for those accredited, while less compliant landlords pay £1,720.

Possible action

Ashifeld councillor John Wilmott, cabinet member for licensing, environmental health and regulatory services, says selective licensing is an important tool that allows it to make improvements to and regulate private housing. “It means landlords and tenants must act responsibly or face possible action from the council – stopping the mindless few who may be causing problems,” says Wilmott. “As successful as the current selective licensing scheme has been it is important that we listen to the views of residents, tenants and landlords who are affected by it.”

The consultation runs until 28th February.

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London lags behind rest of UK as rental prices show substantial rise

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Private rental prices increased by 1.8% in the 12 months to December, the highest yearly rate since July 2017, according to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data.

Its Index of Private Housing Rental Prices shows that excluding London, rental prices for the UK went up by 2.7%, from an increase of 2.5% in November. London’s private rental prices dropped by 0.1% in the 12 months to December, unchanged from the previous month, and was the lowest of any of the English regions. The ONS says this reflects a decrease in demand because workers have switched to remote working, as well as an increase in supply, after many short-term lets changed to long-term lets.

East Midlands

In England, the largest annual rental price increase in the 12 months to December 2021 was in the East Midlands at 3.3%. Private rental prices in Wales grew by 1.5%, down from an increase of 1.6% in November, while in Scotland prices grew by 2.3%, up from an increase of 2% in November and the highest annual growth rate since records began in 2012. The annual rate of change for Northern Ireland at 5% was even higher.

ARLA’s November PRS report found that the average number of new prospective tenants per branch rose significantly from October to November while the number of tenants experiencing rent increases fell for a third month in a row, from 68% in October to 58% in November. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ latest report found tenant demand showing another solid monthly increase in November with a net balance of 48% of respondents citing a rise. The ONS says these supply and demand pressures can take time to feed through to its index, which reflects price changes for all private rental properties rather than only newly advertised rental properties.

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EPC – Improvement advice for 2025 please?

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We are a company just starting our adventure into the BTL market – we own 1 property and are nearing completion on the second in the North East. This property is well into Level E of the EPC and I’m looking at options we can do during renovation to up the level getting ready for 2025.

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commercial demonstrates an impressive bounce back

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Market analysis Sirius Property Finance reveals that the Uk’s commercial property sector has demonstrated an impressive bounce back in the last year, with even the supposedly struggling retail and office sectors showing strong signs of recovery.

In 2021

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