Fewer Buy to Let Investors Track Mortgage Market

The Young Group – British property portfolio and investment managers – has recently published its Young Index for the 3rd quarter of the year. The results of the research suggest that more UK buy to let investors are holding on to their buy to let businesses and no longer review the buy to let mortgage market in a traditional way.
According to the research, fewer than 30% of all respondents to the Young Group survey are reviewing the mortgage market regularly with only 11% of landlords tracking mortgage options every 3 months.
The results prove the findings of the Young Index for the 2nd quarter, which also suggested that few buy to let investors (12%) were tracking the mortgage market regularly.
The figures come at a striking difference with those from a year ago. In the 2nd quarter of 2009 more than 65% of buy to let investors said they were evaluating the mortgage market every 3 months. The latest survey showed that only 29% of landlords are tracking the new mortgage deals every half a year, which compares to 82% in 2008. The Young Index showed that as many as 27% of buy to let investors evaluate available mortgage deals on a yearly basis or less frequently.
These figures, as the Young Group believes, mean that buy to let investors are more cautious about their businesses. The survey showed that most respondents hope to retain their assets for 12 years, which is up from 10 years reported in 2008.
The Young Group’s CEO, Mr. Neil Young, is determined that the behavior of investors can be explained by current market conditions. He says that 57% of buy to let investors blame unavailability of mortgages on their inability to expand portfolios.
Yet, the Young Index showed that 53% of buy to let landlords are planning to purchase property in London in the next 12 months, and 26% - in other regions of the UK.