Landlords outside London are less optimistic on values

Tuesday 24th January 2012

A huge gap is opening up between landlords’ expectations in London and the rest of the UK.

The Young Group, which operates various services for property investors, has measured landlord confidence since 2007.

It says that for the first time, 100% of property investors expect that property values in London will stay put or rise this year, whereas outside London, less than a third (30.4%) think house prices will go up.

Averaged out, investors expect London house prices to go up 4.73% and down 1.39% everywhere else.

The latest Young survey also shows that four in ten investors want to add further London properties to their portfolios this year.  

Most London landlords (85%) expect rents to rise in London this year, compared with 79.5% who think rents outside London will go up.

Landlords also appear extremely committed to their portfolios, with almost all (98%) having no intention of liquidating their property assets this year, and 37% planning to hang on to them for at least 20 years.

The chief worry for landlords is mortgage availability, followed by concerns over unemployment.