According to Landbay, landlord sentiment remains stable despite the broader economic turmoil.
The lender’s latest sentiment survey shows that landlords continue to make clear and informed decisions about their portfolios.
But the research also shows a growing gap between landlords’ confidence in their own portfolios and their view of the wider economy.
The views of landlords’ individual buy-to-let companies are stable: 41.4% of landlords describe themselves as neutral, of which 21.8% are positive and 36.8% are negative.
But confidence in the UK economy remains considerably bleaker, with 69.2% having a negative outlook, 27.1% neutral and just 3.8% positive.
Landbay said this reflects a market where landlords are focusing on what they can control, namely portfolio performance and financing, while remaining cautious about the broader economic outlook.
Most landlords have no plans to buy or sell in the next twelve months, although a significant proportion are still planning to take action. This suggests that activity remains balanced rather than moderate.
Just over half (51.9%) say they currently have no plans to purchase additional properties, while over a third (35.3%) plan to expand their portfolio.
At the same time, sales intentions remain consistent with previous findings, suggesting ongoing portfolio reshaping rather than a wholesale exit from the sector.
According to Landbay, this reflects landlords’ ability to adapt to current conditions, even as they remain cautious about the direction of the broader economy.
Despite the current conditions, many landlords continue to report solid returns. A significant number achieve gross returns between 4 and 6% (27.1%), while a large proportion (21.8%) report returns between 6% and 8%; 15.8% of respondents reported returns of 10% or more.
At the same time, rents continue to change, with more than 75% of landlords planning some kind of increase over the next twelve months.
However, the approach to rent setting is becoming more flexible, which Landbay believes is partly due to the introduction of the rental price Tenants’ Rights Actwith landlords balancing the need to manage rising costs against their new legal responsibilities and tenant affordability.
The results show that landlords continue to prefer fixed-rate products. Most (87.2%) indicated a preference for a two-, three- or five-year fixed rate as their next mortgage, with a five-year fixed rate (46.6%) remaining the most popular choice.
Despite increased discussion about tracker products in the market, only 6% of landlords said they were likely to choose this option for their next mortgage.
Rob Stanton, Landbay sales and distribution director, said: “The key difference from our previous survey results is that sentiment and confidence appear to have stabilised, even through a turbulent few months, especially when it comes to product availability and rates.
“Landlords, for the most part, appear to have a lot of confidence in their own real estate activities and the future of their investments, even if their views about the future performance of the broader economy remain much more skeptical.”