Buy-to-let homes on the increase
The latest market data from the Association of Residential Lettings Agents shows properties owned by landlords peaked at eight in the last four months of 2012, up from seven at the beginning of the year.
Confidence in the market has also led to increased landlord activity with 29 per cent stating they have bought a property in the past year compared to 25 per cent at the start of 2012, ARLA said.
In Gloucestershire, Simon Davis owner of Cotswold Estate Agents, said there had been a return of investors in the county for one, two and three-bedroom homes in particular.
He said they had disappeared from the market in Cheltenham and its surrounding villages between 2007 and 2010, but started to return in numbers in the latter half of 2011 and even more so last year.
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He said: "They feel a lot more confident that house prices won't fall. They can see a far greater return on their investment."
Simon Trippett, area manager at The Property Centre, said a big factor was that properties were more affordable currently, particularly compared to prices at the peak of the market in 2006 and 2007. But he added investment buyers were not always positive for the market.
"From an agents point of view, first-time buyers are crucial to the health of the housing market, whereas investment buyers will buy a property and own it for ten, 15 years plus. The average home-owner moves every six years, allowing chains to be built and the market to keep moving."
The rise in landlord confidence is also reflected in the jump in value of buy-to-let mortgages, with an eight per cent increase in the final quarter of 2012, totalling £4.2 billion, according to the Council For Mortgage Lenders.
Ian Potter, managing director of ARLA, said: "The latest data from ARLA suggests that landlords are carefully but concertedly increasing their portfolios. Activity is returning to the buy-to-let market. While many investors naturally remain cautious, the climb to an average of eight properties per landlord shows that 2012 was a strong year for the Private Rented Sector."
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