Rising rents and larger choice of mortgages for landlords

2014 is shaping up to be a bumper year for UK landlords.

Mortgages for Business have proclaimed a 'buying spree' among buy-to-let investors and whilst that statement is possibly a little over-enthusiastic, there is no denying that the number of buy-to-let mortgages has increased significantly over the past three months as has the activity across the market in general.

Whilst remortgage deals are still outperforming new purchases, the gap between them is closing fast. Loan-to-value has remained stable across most BTL mortgage products.

Looking at yields, the picture across the UK is similar to that in Edinburgh. HMO properties, which are very popular with affluent Edinburgh students, are outperforming other types of BTL investments.

Much of the activity in the property market has been fuelled by a larger number of properties becoming available. In turn, a wider choice of mortgage products has allowed more buyers to enter the market and is slowly starting to lead to higher property prices. These increases have grown organically and are not (yet) cause for concern.

For any landlord, rents will be a major concern. Research by an England-based lettings agent show increases in agreed rentals and rent charged throughout 2013, leading to the conclusion that a stronger sales market is not necessarily detrimental for private lettings.

This particular research found a rise of 8% in monthly rents. Looking at Edinburgh, rents have increased steadily, especially for sought-after properties. However, as tenants have a lot of choice, future increases are likely to be somewhat smaller.

Property market set for growth

As Scottish house prices have sown their strongest growth since June 2007, the housing market looks set for a strong year of growth.

Some of this relatively new activity appears to be thanks to first time buyers, who have created a lot of activity at the lower end of the market.

At the same time, UK homeowners, questioned by Zoopla.co.uk, predicted a house price rise of over 7% between now and the summer, with smaller rises to follow later in the year. Overall, more than nine out of ten homeowners expect house prices in their area to rise - a massive increase from 65% last year and the highest proportion on record.

For Edinburgh property, a mixed picture develops. As a lot of the growth is fuelled by first time buyers looking for smaller properties, investors interested in the student property market can still find very interesting properties at great prices.

This is the case especially for larger, traditional tenement flats, perfect for sharing between three and six people. Whilst some of the opportunities on the market require refurbishment and other work to ensure they stand up to HMO regulation, the capital and rental yield on a long term investment speak for themselves.

Looking at the first time buyer market, there too are bargains to be found as more properties are coming on the market. Over the course of 2013, whilst prices were slowly starting to rise and mortgages were becoming more easily available, many potential sellers were holding back.

As positive news continues to be heard, more sellers will put their properties on the market, leading to more choice for buyers. We're not looking at a property bubble at this time, but at a recovering market.

What 2014 has in stock for landlords

Throughout 2013, we've seen an abundance of stories about the vitality of the buy-to-let market. Looking at property media now, more and more stories appear about house prices growing, more properties coming on the market and selling faster.

Does that mean the good times are over for private lettings? Whilst some suggest so, we beg to differ. First of all, we strongly believe that a vibrant property market is generally more appealing to all buyers than a stagnant one.

Whilst mortgage finance, for both investors and owner occupiers, has become more widely available, substantial deposits are still required to access some of the better deals. The government's Help to Buy programme, designed to help first time buyers onto the property ladder, has had good success, but not to the detriment of the private rented sector.

In fact, the National Landlords Association, based in England, has recently published statistics that show just over one in five landlords is concerned about their rental property because of Help to Buy.

What is interesting is that, despite the number of homeowners growing once more, 'renters' seem to come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with those earning over £40k per year just as likely to rent as those on lower incomes, according to the Cover4LetProperty.

We strongly believe that high-quality properties will continue to attract reliable tenants for years to come.