PFL in the News
1st December 2007
2008 buy-to-let forecast
Property For Life, a UK based property investment consultancy, has offered their predictions for the buy to-let market of 2008, with expectations that include a five per cent base rate fall and an overall property price growth of three per cent The forecast also suggests that there will be strong buy-to-let activity levels among serious investors and increasing rental yields as rent demand increases.
David Austin, managing director of Property For Life, said: 'The buy-to-let market has had a strong year, remaining buoyant despite slowing house prices and financial turbulence. This will continue into 2008, encouraged by three quarter percent drops in the Bank of England base rate, taking the rate back down to five per cent.
'Property prices will be static for the first half of the year, with overall price growth for 2008 reaching a potential maximum of three per cent. As a result of this and the lingering aftermath of the credit crunch, we expect to see some slight dips in activity levels and demand as newer investors hold back until they are more certain about the state of the housing market. 'However, activity levels among serious investors will continue to be high throughout 2008, particularly as better investment opportunities re-emerge and buyers focus on the solid longer term returns of bricks and mortar.
Demand for properties will be as strong as ever, buoyed by the growing demand from students, immigrants and those who prefer to rent as a lifestyle choice. With the private rented sector also increasingly taking up the slack on social housing, the future of the sector looks bright'
They also offer a series of investment hotspot areas which include the M4 corridor, in particular Reading, Swindon and Bristol, growing university towns such as Southampton and regeneration areas such as Middlesborough.
David Austin added: 'the development and regeneration in these areas and the jobs and opportunities they are creating will draw people inwards, providing some extremely lucrative prospects for the buy-to-let investor.'
