Landlords will need to keep up with a changing sector

Indeed, I doubt anyone could have predicted the changes we have seen over the last few years. But what about if we look ahead now? If we take the market as it is, challenges and all, and consider how things will look in 2028 – what kind of picture are we seeing?

One thing I think will change drastically over the next decade – indeed, something that is already starting to happen – is that we will see buy to let ‘hotspots’ gradually disappearing from the South. The changes to lender criteria in terms of rental ratio calculations will mean, for many landlords, London and the surrounding areas are out of reach. For many it no longer makes sense to invest in the capital.

Meanwhile, of course, areas in the north of the country are starting to become hugely popular with investors. According to figures from Commercial Trust, the North West of England and the Yorkshire and Humber region have both seen a rise in landlord applications over the last year.

This looks likely to continue as investment in the northern region as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative makes it more attractive both to investors and buyers and to renters.

We’ll also see the number of limited company landlords continue to increase and, in order to provide for them, so too the number of limited company mortgages. Increased popularity will lead to increased competition so we should see better rates and product features.

Indeed, a study by Kent Reliance late last year revealed 70% of buy to let applications were made via limited companies rather than individuals in the first nine months of 2017, up from 45% in 2016.

And, despite the challenges facing the sector, one thing I think we will see is a continued increase in both people looking to rent and in the quality of accommodation being offered. The purpose-built private rental sector is growing because more people are choosing to rent rather than buy and the traditional landlord sector will have to keep up to compete.