Two out of three landlords will not sell any property  

Two-thirds of buy-to-let landlords (66%) do not intend to sell any of their property in the next 12months and 36% of those actually intend to buy, according to the latest Landbay survey.

The other third (34%) are thinking of selling but only one in ten of them will sell all of their property with the main reason being that property investment is no longer financially viable. However, 90% of landlords looking to sell said they only want to sell some of their properties, with 15% of those also intending to buy as they are restructuring their portfolios.

There is a mixed picture in the regions with half of landlords in London saying they want to sell some property. In the South of England, 29% of landlords intend to sell, in the North it is 25% and in the Midlands 22%.

The main reason for selling, cited by 65% of landlords, is rising interest rates, up from 45% a year ago. Meanwhile, 30% said the rent is not covering their mortgage costs compared to 22% in October 2022. The rise in these percentages is not surprising given that Bank of England base rate was 2.25% a year ago and is now 5.25%.

Landlord taxation is also a reason to dispose of property for 40% of respondents and 25% pointed to the lowering of Capital Gains Tax.

Rob Stanton, business development director at Landbay, said: “Our survey found that one in three landlords are thinking of selling some of their property but not all of it. They intend to stay in the market but are trimming their portfolios and some are reorganising as they both buy and sell property. Higher costs are typically why landlords want to sell, not just interest rates but taxation is also an issue for some.

“On the positive side, two thirds of landlords have no intention of selling and 36% of those are looking to buy property. The market is changing and landlords who see opportunities are taking them while others are rethinking their strategy.”