Average rents at all-time high and more buy-to-let mortgages
Average monthly rents have reached an all-time high of over £700 as lenders launch more investment mortgages.
According to LSL Property Services, average monthly rents rose to £701 in England and Wales and £1006 in London. The average rental yield is up to 5.2% a year.
Figures from Rightmove, the property site, show that some areas are yielding as much as 8.1% and the average yield on student accommodation is as high as 10%.
An estimated 5,700 investors entered the buy-to-let market for the first time in the three months to the end of June, said Paragon, the buy-to-let specialist lender. Landlords now account for nearly one in ten new mortgages, the highest level since 2008.
The increase in lenders offering buy-to-let mortgages is clearly starting to make a difference and there are now 403 investment mortgages, compare to 298 in April 2011.
Aaron Strutt, a broker at Trinity Financial, says: "Lenders want to lend at the moment and they know that buy-to-let popularity is on the up.
“NatWest for Intermediaries lowered some of their investment mortgages buy 1.4% last week and other specialist lenders are making more rates available.
"Trinity works with a number of landlords and developers and we can access some of the lowest rates available in the market. If you think we could help, feel free to give us a call."
July 20, 2011