Buy-to-let landlords optimistic about performance of their property investments

A new survey of buy-to-let (BTL) landlords in the UK has found:

• 60% are optimistic about the future performance of their property investments, both in terms of capital growth and rental returns.
• 57% say the Bank of England’s August rate cut had a positive impact on their investments.
• Two-thirds (58%) believe BTL investments remain highly attractive in the current climate.

 
BTL landlords are optimistic for the future as they look to maintain or expand their portfolios in the next 12 months, new research from Butterfield Mortgages Limited (BML) has found.

The prime London mortgage provider commissioned an independent survey of 501 UK landlords with BTL mortgages. It found that two-thirds (60%) of UK landlords are optimistic – both in terms of capital growth and rental returns – about the future performance of their property investments.

Over half (57%) of respondents revealed that this interest rate cut has had a positive impact on their investments, while a similar number (58%) believe that BTL investments remain highly attractive in the current climate.

When asked about their investment strategies in the next 12 months, the vast majority of landlords say they will increase (38%) or maintain (49%) the size of their portfolios. A small minority (10%) will reduce the number of properties they own.

BML’s research also found that over half (56%) of landlords believe that the predicted exodus of landlords from the BTL market has been greatly exaggerated.
 
Alpa Bhakta, CEO of Butterfield Mortgages Limited, said: “It cannot be denied that the buy-to-let (BTL) sector has faced considerable challenges in recent years, but our findings show that landlords remain eager to invest in the UK rental market. The sector’s resilience can be attributed to two key factors: strong rental income and steady capital growth. Encouragingly, both of these indicators have shown positive momentum in recent months, suggesting that landlords’ appetite for investment will continue to grow as economic conditions improve.

“That said, brokers and lenders must be mindful of the challenges that lie ahead, particularly as we approach the Autumn Budget. Additional taxation and regulation are likely to be introduced, so landlords will need ongoing support and tailored guidance to navigate any new hurdles that arise. Flexibility and bespoke solutions will be critical to the sector’s success going forward, so brokers and lenders need to collaborate to ensure borrowers have access to the financial products they need to thrive in the latter half of this year.”
 
About the research
 
The market research was carried out between the 30th of August and the 3rd of September 2024 among 501 UK landlords with a buy-to-let mortgage (18+) via an online survey by an independent market research agency Censuswide. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) Company Partner Service, whose code of conduct and quality commitment it strictly adheres to. Its MRS membership means that it adheres to strict guidelines regarding all phases of research, including research design and data collection; communicating with respondents; conducting fieldwork; analysis and reporting; data storage. The data sample of 501 UK adults is fully nationally representative. This means the sample is weighted to ONS criteria so that the gender, age, social grade, region and city of the respondents corresponds to the UK population as a whole. These questions focus on a collection of 501 UK landlords who have a buy-to-let mortgage.