Landlords focus on cheaper properties in 2017

In the first quarter of 2017 landlords purchased vanilla properties typically worth less than £300,000, down from nearly £414,000 in the final quarter of 2016.

Landlords focus on cheaper properties in 2017

Landlords have purchased homes at the bottom end of the market this year, Mortgages for Business’ Complex Buy to Let index has revealed.

In the first quarter of 2017 landlords purchased vanilla properties worth less than £300,000 on average, down from nearly £414,000 in the final quarter of 2016.

They also took out mortgages worth £197,000, down from £243,000 in the quarter before.

This year the North West has been viewed as the best area for buy-to-let landlords to purchase houses in the UK in order to get the best returns.

David Whittaker, chief executive of Mortgages for Business, said: “We see new and unusual purchase activity from landlords, presumably because incoming changes to income tax relief have prompted them to re-examine their strategies.”

Landlords also seem to be clamouring to purchase complex properties.

In the first quarter 41% of multi-unit freehold blocks were for purchase rather than remortgage, up from around 20% in the past two years.