The number of buy-to-let properties bought by landlords as a percentage of all homes sold across the nation has sunk to its lowest level since records began.

Some 9.7% of homes on the market so far this year were bought by landlords, with London seeing a decline from 17% of all sales in 2015 to just 8% so far during 2024.

This reduction is down to more landlord selling rental properties than those buying them, says estate agency Hamptons.

The firm pins this situation on high mortgage rates combined with political uncertainty and the threat of new rental regulations which it claims have all weighed on the appetite for new investors to enter the market.

Its regional picture is similar – all of the country’s regions have seen the proportion of properties bought by landlords declining  with only the North East seeing a small rise (+1%).

But some cities remain hotspots for landlords purchases with, for example, Sunderland landlords buying up 45% of all the stock there so far this year.

Hamptons is keen to point out that there is not an ‘exodus’ as some commentators claim, but instead fewer landlords are joining the private rented sector or fewer existing ones are declining to buy more properties.

Its report says: “While institutional investment into larger rental developments such as build-to-rent has filled some of this void, there are still fewer homes available to rent than before.  

Rental homes

“There were 42% fewer rental homes on the market across Great Britain last month than in June 2016.

Aneisha Beveridge (pictured), Head of Research, says: “Rather than a mass landlord sell-off, the lack of homes available to rent has been caused by fewer investors entering the market.

“Tax and regulatory changes introduced since 2016 have been the main culprit, but these disincentives to invest have been compounded more recently by higher interest rates and political uncertainty around the threat of more rental reform.

“If investor purchases and sales continued at 2015 levels, there would likely be 450,000 more private rental homes in Great Britain by the end of this year.  This is roughly equivalent to the total number of homes in Birmingham.  

“Most investor purchases this year have been driven by cash-rich, larger portfolio landlords who continue to expand their portfolios.  

“The lack of supply is one of the main factors underpinning strong rental growth and this is unlikely to reverse any time soon.”

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