Trump’s rates and restrictive buy-to-long rules can scare off some potential landlords and real estate investors, but Hiten Ganatra thinks there are some great opportunities within this market. This is why he thinks it’s time to buy …
Many real estate customers have asked me in recent months, “Is a good time to buy now?” My reaction is always ‘yes’. Let me explain why.
Firstly, the number of available rental properties in the United Kingdom has fallen by 18% compared to last year and is now 23% below pre-Pandemic level, according to Twentyea.
Moreover, the number of properties sold by landlords has increased considerably, with 15.6% of all new instructions in quarter one (Q1) 2025 that was previously houses, a significant increase of 9.8% in Q1 2024, analysis of Twentyea has demonstrated.
New instructions for Q1 2025 amounted to 451.154 – Of these, 70,542 or 15.6% were prior rental.
Despite the fact that hundreds of pieces of legislation are set up by successive governments, it is clear that although some smaller investors have to sell – to sell, experienced portfolios in broad lines are not deterred and feel a chance.
Investment value – Location and property type
In general, landlords See more value in second -hand and older stock, instead of new construction, where you have the ‘New Build Premium’.
The landlords with whom I speak say: “Let us acquire these characteristics and make them suitable for the goal, so that we can get long -term lease contracts that are secured in and around London.” The same will apply most of the urban areas in the United Kingdom.
The north also attracts many investors, because the yields and figures are much larger. London seems to have his headwind when it comes to assets values, rental prices and limitations of the local government.
Let’s face it, London has more than 30 different local authorities and therefore 30 different rules – if you have one property in one local authority and others in another, it creates extra complexity. The figures are much better in general as you continue to the north.
The challenge, when you look at properties with lower value, are the emerging regulations for energy efficiency. Indeed, upgrading some properties to an EPC rating of C or higher may prove to be expensive. As an example, a £ 15,000 retrofit expenditure on a home worth only £ 100,000 may not be a good investment.
Opportunities for pension savers
Another chance is within the pension space. There is a lot of talk about the government that taxing pensions in a different way and the part of an estate.
As such, for those with a large pension pot that can make the 25%drawing, real estate investments is an option, mainly because there is the government that reduces the maximum that can be drawn to £ 100,000.
Of course there is a lot of money in pension funds. And if the tax rules change, it can make buy-to-off even more attractive.
Let’s be honest with real estate, you can touch and feel the investment and with pensions the rules can change, which means that you have little control over the outcome.
The impact of Trump’s rates on the investments in real estate
We didn’t even touch it rates And the prospect of constant global unrest. In my opinion, the UK ownership has very few rivals in terms of returns, as well as future growth of assets and I see no reason to change this vision.
Hiten Ganatra
There are a lot of buy-to-off and bridging financial lenders who compete against each other, and this is the retention of rates and Criteria competing. They acknowledge that real estate investment is a sector with a low overdue overdue risks.
Is it more complex than a few years ago, yes. However, we still see new landlords building portfolios and despite the negativity around landlords and real estate investments, it is now definitely a good time to buy.
Hiten Ganatra is director of Visionary financing