The value of advice in a complex buy-to-let market

There have been some rumblings around whether these may soften under new leadership of the country but, with no cast iron guarantees that there will be a climb down in regulatory pressure anytime soon, many landlords are still facing some tough decisions. With the associated costs attached to being a landlord undoubtedly rising, the emphasis on maximising yields has intensified and additional scrutiny placed on portfolios of all shapes and sizes. A factor which has also resulted in even more pressure falling on the amount of rent being charged across the UK.

A recent study from ARLA Propertymark showed that the number of tenants facing rent rises increased to the highest level on record in July. It revealed that 63 per cent of agents reported landlords at their branch increased rents in July, compared to 31 per cent a year ago. The percentage of agents reporting rent hikes was said to be the highest since ARLA began collecting the data in 2015 and July was the third consecutive month to break previous records.

Other data which emerged from the study showed that letting agents had an average of 184 properties under management per branch in July, down from 199 in June. Rental demand increased with an average of 73 prospective tenants registered per branch, compared to 70 in June. However, demand was lower than a year ago when 79 tenants per branch were registered to find properties. The number of landlords exiting the market remained at four per branch, unchanged from a year ago. These are not the most positive figures I’ve ever seen but that should not stop us from finishing on a positive note for landlords and the intermediary market.

Lenders are still lending in large numbers. Not only that, they are innovating and widening their propositions in line with market conditions to better support the broader needs of landlords to add to, or get better value from, their portfolios. The costs attached to buy-to-let finance have fallen dramatically and interest rates have never been lower. This has led to an increase in remortgage business and served to offer landlords some financial leeway. Due to additional layers of complexity throughout the sector, the advice process is more valued than ever. Meaning that opportunities will continue to emerge for intermediaries who offer specialist advice, or have established relationships in place with buy-to-let specialists, to ensure clients have access to the kind of expertise that could make the difference in such a tricky economic climate.

So, there remains many reasons for the buy-to-let sector to be cheerful, and even in the face of more political uncertainly this is unlikely to change in the near future.