Buy to let growth predicted for year-end by leading banking group

Buy-to-let in Britain is predicted to show growth for 2018 and will be bigger than previous years, says the Paragon Banking Group, one of the UK’s largest providers of mortgages and personal loans.

According to Paragon’s trading update, published in mid-September, by the end of 2018 buy-to-let in Britain is expected to have risen by more than 25 per cent on the 2017 level.

In July this year, the banking group’s buy-to-let pipeline reported a £71.2m increase at the close of the second quarter of 2018, which concluded at £858.8m. The group informed that in the same quarter its mortgage lending totalled £409.9m, meaning that year to date lending stood at £1.1bn, £0.05bn more compared to 2017’s figure.

The rise of the professional landlord

A spokesperson for Paragon said its buy-to-let operations have been focused on the professional landlord business, which now represents approximately 90 per cent of its mortgage application flows.

Regulatory and tax changes to the buy-to-let market in recent years have been paving the way to craft greater professionalism within the sector and subsequently Britain has seen the rise of professional, business landlords, which tend to own larger portfolios.

Bringing greater professionalism to the rental sector is deemed by many as a positive step, which drives greater landlord responsibility and higher standards within the market.

As Landlord News notes:

“For these investors, the rental market is the very core of their business and day-to-day work, and that commitment is much more likely to lead to a higher standard of property and a better experience for tenants.”

If you are an existing landlord looking to increase your property portfolio or are perhaps new to the sector and wanting to secure your first investment, purchasing buy-to-let property at auction can be a shrewd move.

Have a browse through the properties Auction House London has available in our forthcoming auction or contact us if you want to learn more about buying property at auction.