New data analysis confirms a rise in buy-to-let landlords selling properties during the past two years and the potential for more properties to leave the sector.
Savills has number-crunched HMRC figures to reveal that last year’s (2021-22) disposal figures have been revised by 8.5% from 141,000 to 153,000, suggesting that landlords could have been selling up earlier than was previously thought.
There were 151,000 residential disposals in 2022-23, making it the second biggest year on record compared to 2021-22.
Forecasts
The number of homes sold by landlords rose to 25,000 between April and May from 22,000 in February and March, according to forecasts based on an analysis of capital gains tax receipts. In contrast, over the past decade there have been an average of 61,000 disposals each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14.
The past two years have seen a 26.5% increase in the number of residential disposals compared to between 2014-15 and 2019-20.
Sales in the 2022-23 financial year generated £1.83 billion in CGT, as did sales in the 2021-22 financial year which also generated £1.83 billion. This is a significant increase over sales in 2020-21 which generated £1.14 billion.
Disposals
Savills says the revisions to the 2021-22 figures create the possibility that the 2022-23 figures will be revised up next year, making the disposals even higher and the outlined trends stronger.
It adds: “All this points to an increase in buy-to-let landlords selling properties in the past two years and the potential for properties to be leaving the sector.
“It also suggests this trend may have started earlier than previously thought. However, it is not clear if those properties are being bought by other landlords or being taken out of the private rental sector.”
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