Buy-To-Let is the proverbial ‘bread and butter’ strategy of UK property investing.
… but is it getting stale?
For people watching the market from the sidelines, it can seem like BTL stands for ‘But Too Late’. The sentiment is understandable:
- Prices are stubbornly high, and have been so for a while
- Rates have gone up
- Yield squeeze in some areas
- Monied speculators abound (mo’ competition)
- Section 24 (if applicable)
- Scary geopolitical events that need not be named over the horizon
- Inflationary vibes
- Etc, etc
These ‘headwinds’ (as economists like to say) have attributed to these trends in UK property investing:
- Many legacy individual investors are exiting the market (and moving to Spain)
- Many would-be investors are, well, not investing
- Many professional investors are seeking greener, more niche pastures
It’s definitely a time of many changes. And whether this is a net benefit or loss would depend on your own position in the market.
However, the question “Is the BTL market getting stale?” is a bit of a rhetorical one.
‘BTL’, a.k.a ‘traditional property investing’ a.k.a ‘buying regular properties to lease out to regular people’, will never be permanently out of fashion.
It’s like the 7 loaves of bread that Jesus fed 4,000 with – it always comes back.
Stay epic,
Sam Lee