Landlords increase the size of their property portfolios

Research by Paragon Mortgages, the specialist buy-to-let mortgage lender, has revealed an increase in landlords' property portfolios in the second quarter of 2012. During the past three months landlords' property portfolios increased from an average of 12.9 in Q1, to 14.1 properties in Q2. This is also an increase on Q2 2011 when the average portfolio size was 12.5 properties. A fifth (21%) of landlords who took part in the quarterly Private Rented Sector Trends Survey, said that they were planning to add to their portfolios in the third quarter of this year, which is up from 18% during the same time period last year. Of those landlords who are planning to purchase buy-to-let property in Q3, 49% will be investing in terraced houses - which remain the most popular property type for landlords to invest in. More than a quarter of landlords (26%) expect to buy flats or maisonettes, and 23% plan to purchase semi-detached houses. John Heron, Managing Director of Paragon Mortgages, said: “The fact that landlords are planning to make further investments in their property portfolios is positive news. It shows their appetite to grow their business to meet the on-going demands from tenants and demonstrates the viability of the UK's private rental sector.” June 15, 2012