Is the buy to let property market starting to wobble?
Revelations that mortgage arrears in the buy to let sector have increased substantially over the last few months is causing significant concern amongst UK lenders. This is a sector which for many months has seemingly managed to avoid the worst of the UK recession although tellingly it appears that more and more landlords are starting to struggle.
A mixture of a soft rental market together with a significant reduction in tenants, many of whom have seen their income reduced or have in fact lost their employment positions, is starting to have a heavy impact. In the short to medium term it is highly likely that we will see a number of properties repossessed and placed on the market for sale which would at best slow down any potential recovery in the UK property market and at worst force prices low.
We have yet to see any significant increase in property investment across the UK with many investors waiting for more bargains to arrive on the market. While the more traditional UK property ownership market has been struggling for some time, a period of concern appears on the horizon for the buy to let sector which has made many people across the UK significant investment returns over the last decade.
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