Buy-to-let activity contracted 13.3% over the last 12 months, which is unsurprising given the raft of tax changes by the government designed to hit buy-to-let landlords in the pocket. But despite the unprecedented attack on the private rented sector, including the introduction of a 3% stamp duty surcharge on the purchase of buy-to-let homes and the fact that mortgage interest relief will be cut from next year, signs are that private landlords will continue to provide more much needed rental homes across the country, as reflected by a 4.5% month-on-month rise in buy-to-let valuations in October.
The data shows that despite the annual slowdown in the buy-to-let market, activity levels have picked up in other areas of the housing market, with a notable 6.4% rise in the number of all property valuations compared with the corresponding month last year.
“Recently, as landlords have started to come to terms with the stamp duty surcharge and the announcement of the changes to treatment of mortgage interest, the buy-to-let market has started to pick back up,”