Landlords hoping to sell their rental properties have seen the top of the market, a big letting agency has claimed.
Hamptons says its study of Land Registry data reveals that capital gains made by landlords so far this year are down on 2022 by nearly £10,000 on average, revealing the effect of the cooling market on buy-to-let investor returns.
During 2022 landlords sold their homes for an £105,000 profit after owning it for 11 years, as an average, a figure which was just short of £95,000, reflecting the fast-cooling home sales market in the UK.
Those hoping to sell their properties in London will see the biggest falls – London landlords so far this year have sold their properties for £12,000 less than they would have last year, or a drop of 8.8%.
Slip back
Aneisha Beveridge (pictured) Head of Research at Hamptons, says: “As house prices start to slip back, there are signs that the landlords looking to sell today may have missed the top of the market.
“Rather, some investors are consoling themselves with record-breaking rental growth which is slowly ironing out the arithmetic for landlords.
“Lower house prices and higher rents will combine to shore up the rental market as more landlords hold off on the decision to sell.
Her figures show that London has seen the strongest surge in rents, up nearly 14% year-on-year.
Final straw
Tax expert David Hannah of Cornerstone says: “I fear that increasing mortgage costs will be the final straw for Britain’s landlords.
“They have now experienced their lowest profits since 2007 and face further government red tape.”
