November 21, 2011
Rising House Prices Continue to make Buy to Let Investments a Good Place for Savings
According to the latest industry data released by the Halifax, house prices in the UK have risen again. October saw the average house price increase by 1.2% which means a typical house now costs in the region of £160,000. With first time buyers needing hefty deposits that they simply can’t afford many continue to be forced into private renting as their only alternative.
Today almost 4million properties are classed as private rental sector – a figure that accounts for one in every six household properties – but demand still outweighs supply. A report by the Countrywide Agency released earlier this month revealed that good condition rental properties generally take less than 2 weeks to let, and that an average of 5 applicants compete for every property.
This data, when coupled with the news that rental incomes have seen their ninth consecutive monthly increase, shows that buy to let investments are still one of the top investment opportunities for both first time investors and seasoned veterans. Deposits of 40% are no longer needed and a lot of buy to let mortgage lenders will now accept 25% or even 20% with proof of income.
So, unless the housing market crashes to the extent that first time buyers can afford to buy, the need for private rental properties is not going to diminish any time in the near future; a fact that makes them the ideal long term investment opportunity.
