Ellis & Co Managing Director Kate Randall admitted it was no surprise to see confidence among landlords at a record high.
It’s been a difficult 18 months for many private landlords because of the pandemic But despite the impact of Covid-19, landlord confidence is higher than it’s been for more than five years.
Paragon Bank surveyed more than 600 private landlords and asked them to rate their expectations on:
- Rental yields
- The future of their property businesses
- Capital gains
- The private rented sector as a whole
- The wider UK financial outlook
The last time the survey was carried out – in 2016, just before the EU referendum – only 19% of landlords were confident in about the future of their property businesses.
Now, however, that confidence has more than doubled to 48%.
The survey of landlords revealed:
- 48% had ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ expectations for their portfolios
- 47% had ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ expectations for capital gains
- 26% had ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ expectations for the UK financial market
- 38% had ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ expectations for the private rented sector
- 56% with 11 or more properties in their portfolio felt ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ about their business prospects
- 46% with between one and 10 properties felt ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ about their business prospects
- 63% who had recently purchased a rental property felt ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ about their business prospects
- 78% with plans to expand their portfolio over the next 12 months felt ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ about their business prospects
Kate said: “Property remains a strong investment and an excellent way to boost income and build a pension pot for retirement.
“And with tenant demand continuing to rise, it’s no surprise to see landlord confidence rising, too.
“Not only that, but a greater focus on compliance across the private rented sector means tenants are benefiting as well.”
Richard Rowntree, managing director for mortgages at Paragon, said: “Understandably, landlord confidence fell sharply in the first quarter of 2020, as the extent of the pandemic became clear.
“It is fantastic to see optimism bounce back and rise in the time since.
“It is an indication of the strength of the sector. Landlords see the sector’s issues and opportunities daily, so measuring their outlook can provide useful insight for the industry and, as we see here, investor confidence can have a real impact on behaviour.”
