Landlords increase property portfolios

A number of landlords have capitalised on falling house prices to expand their property portfolio this year, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has said.

From the last quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009, the average number of properties owned by landlords is said to have grown from 6.3 to 7. ARLA added that the average landlord now owns twice as many properties as they did in 2008.

Ian Potter, Operations Manager at ARLA, warned that while buy-to-let conditions are favourable, landlords need to be careful:

"There is a huge potential for investment at present, but landlords should take heed from the number of buy-to-let repossessions that this recession has seen and only borrow what they can realistically manage."

ARLA revealed that the experience of landlords is also rising, with the average investor now possessing an average of 9.2 years of experience, compared to 7.8 years at the start of the year.

23/10/09