Buy-to-let investors buoyed by rent rises
New research shows demand for rented property is at a record high.
Figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) reveal 30 per cent more chartered surveyors reported a rise in rental levels over the three months to July – up from 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2006.
The figures represent the strongest level of rental demand on record – rewarding those who have invested in property in recent months.
Rics spokesperson Jeremy Leaf explained the rise was in part due to the numbers of workers coming to the UK from the new EU countries.
He told BBC Two's Working Lunch: "Immigration influences the property market because a lot of the people who are working are here for short periods.
"And therefore, they're not looking to buy, they want to rent and they'll do that for at least six months, maybe a year."
He also admitted that the strength of the buy-to-let market was hitting the chance for first-time buyers to step on the property ladder.
He said: "First-time buyers will find it hard to enter the housing market with higher rents making it difficult to save sufficient sums for a deposit."
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