Category Archives: Build to Rent (BTR)

Purpose built developments specifically for the lettings sector.  The business model is based on long-term rental income streams.  Projects are widely funded by institutional funding sources.

Expert Property Market Forecasts (2019)

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Property Expert Market Forecasts 2019

The following collection of property expert commentary delves into a range of topics moving into 2019. Rolled out for the second year (see the 2018 version), perhaps unsurprisingly, Brexit’s impact on the market remains a common theme.  Yet, while gauging the exact effects is anyone’s guess, the underlying mantra of ‘keeping calm and carrying on’ prevails across this year’s contributions. This is not to understate the risks.  Potential interest rate hikes, negligible capital growth (at best), affordability constraints, and the wind coming out the sails of London’s global hub status are a handful of factors that could spell danger for the over-exposed.  For landlords, the tightening screws resulting from Section 24 and ever-higher barriers to entry continue to shake-up the industry for the worse.  2019 is also likely to be a testing year for emerging operators in the build-to-rent, property... [Read More]

The Future of the Private Rented Sector (PRS)

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Click to the video below to listen to our conversation with David Bond, head of PRS and build to rent at PRSim.  David delved into a range of topics of interest to both private and institutional landlords. It’s worth opening up the 2018 “Tenant Survey”, as David regularly refers to research of over 3,750 tenants across the UK. Some of the areas covered include: The work that PRSim does in the UK’s private rented sector; The key findings of the 2018 “Tenant Survey” (touching on the methodology, sample size and the latest data on the build to rent sector); The private rented sector’s evolution in recent years and how the 2018 survey contrasts with previous years’ research; An exploration of key life-stage groups identified in the survey – namely: ‘younger independents’, ‘flexible professionals’, ‘budgeting families’ and ‘reconciled with renting’; Some of the current stereotypes and... [Read More]

Property Investor’s Factfile – June 2018 Commentary

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Property Investor Facts and Figures - June 2018

June 2018 Property Investor´s Factfile The Property Investor’s Factfile presents a range of relevant data for buy-to-let investors, traders and developers. Below are some noteworthy observations over the last month: Property Market Trends After a 3.1% drop in April (the largest since September 2010), the Halifax reported 1.5% house price growth in May.  On an annual basis, prices were 1.9% higher in three months leading up to May relative to the same period in 2017.  Russell Galley, managing director, commented that continued labour market strength alongside falling inflation, rising wages and low interest rates were “underpinning prices”; According to the Nationwide house price index, UK houses prices fell by 0.2% in May, but grew by 2.4% year-on-year.  Chief economist, Robert Gardner, commented to the FT: “Surveyors continue to report subdued levels of new buyer enquiries, while the supply of properties on the... [Read More]

Rental Deposits Made Easy

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Particularly in larger towns and cities, landlords and build-to-let management companies are increasingly dealing with a more transient tenant-customer base, many of whom are looking for ‘service-focused’ offerings and flexible tenancy agreements. With higher churn and concerns over cash flow, the demand for solutions that streamline the tenancy management process from start to finish is evidenced by the emergence of a number of PropTech companies operating in the space. Ripe for disruption is the tenancy deposit collection process.  For many, paying what can be a substantial sum of money to secure rental accommodation is a major burden – particularly in London and the South East.  At the same time, landlords simply want to ensure that they take on trustworthy tenants without having to spend a considerable amount of time and effort ensuring the correct boxes are ticked. In response, a number of insurance firms... [Read More]

Build to Rent – Where Next?

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Where Next for Build to Rent - British Property Foundation - The Property Investor's Blog

Amongst a series of industry talks and discussions at this year’s British Property Federation’s annual conference, the ongoing expansion of the UK institutional private rented sector was frequently discussed across the day’s agenda. Following a headline presentation by Jaqui Daly director of investment research and strategy at Savills, one of the panel discussions saw Marie Hunt, executive director and head of research at CBRE; David Montague, chief executive at L&Q; Andrew Bruce at the Scottish Futures Trust and Martijn Vos, senior real estate portfolio manager at APG AM explore the contemporary build to rent (BTR) investment case, the sector’s expansion and some of the pertinent concerns. The Exponential Growth of Build-to-Rent Multiplying fivefold since 2013, contrary to what some believed was a market “fad”, the growth of purpose-built rental schemes is showing little sign of slowdown.  According to Jacqui Daly, there are... [Read More]

Expert Property Market Forecasts (2018)

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Expert Property Market Forecasts 2018

What follows is an extended post collating a wide array of commentary from property industry thought-leaders, who kindly took the time to reflect on the market moving into 2018. In addition to high-level insights into macro influences, price and rental trends, it is interesting to see the experts delve into a number of specific topics. Examples include the notable demographic shifts occurring across the country alongside the real effects of the Universal Credit (UC) rollout, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) freezes and the widening risks of homelessness. The continued evolution of the build-to-rent, property crowdfunding and online auction sectors have also been explored in some depth. For higher tax paying private landlords, taking heed of the intensifying effects of Section 24 of the Finance Act is frequently mentioned, as are some useful tips to best prepare, and indeed capitalise, for what... [Read More]

Property Investor’s Factfile – November 2017 Commentary

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Distance shot photo of houses in Plymouth, England, UK.

November 2017 Property Investor´s Factfile The Property Investor’s Factfile presents a range of relevant data from national / London house prices, the latest buy-to-let Limited Company (SPV) loan rates, LIBOR / SWAP rates and rentals to mortgage debt figures and information on the first-time buyer sector.  Some noteworthy observations over the last month are outlined below: Property Price Trends According to Halifax data, house prices picked up 4.5% in the three months to October compared to the same period a year earlier. This figure was up from the 4% annualised growth figure in September and the fastest pace since February.  Although voicing concerns about increasing pressures on household finances, the Halifax did not expect the Monetary Policy Committee early November bank rate rise to be a barrier. Russell Galley from the Halifax in the FT stated: “The fact that the supply of... [Read More]

Rightmove Autumn Rental Market Update

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With approximately 300,000 rental properties currently on Rightmove, it is always interesting to speak with Sam Mitchell, head of lettings on the portal’s latest quarterly report. Rental Values Outside of London Drop by 0.2% National asking rents outside of London dropped by 0.2% in quarter 3, a relatively rare occurrence.  This largely comes down to supply and a continuation of the patterns highlighted in Rightmove’s quarter 2 report.  Essentially, the rush of property investors ahead of the stamp duty surcharge in April 2016 – particularly in Greater London and the South East – led to a residual increase of available rental stock accompanied by a slight slowdown in demand. Anecdotal evidence suggests that landlords are still buying, albeit at a slower pace[1].  In recent years, the South East has seen a noticeable increase in rental property supply as investors seek... [Read More]

The Private Rented Sector (PRS) – Will the Trickle Become A Torrent?

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Now firmly embedded into most high-profile property development-related events, one of the many panel discussions at this year’s MIPIM[1] explored the current direction of the institutional Private Rented Sector (iPRS). Chaired by Damian Wilde[2], panellists Richard Snook[3], Bill Hughes[4] and Jacqui Daly[5] collectively delved into a number of topics related to build to rent’s sustained growth, how the sector fits into the wider picture of housing provision, some of the imminent macro-related risks and how modular housing has the potential to accelerate future delivery[6]. The Role of Private Rented Sector in the Coming Decade Richard Snook provided some background as to how “generation rent” has developed to its current form – largely extracted from the 2016 PwC housing market outlook report. As seen in the chart below, the noticeable increase in mortgaged property ownership during the Thatcher years contrasted with... [Read More]

Private Rented Sector Growth & The Expansion of Build to Rent (Bisnow)

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Below is a summarised write-up of three broadly overlapping build to rent (BTR) panel discussions from a mid-May 2017 Bisnow event.  Drawing on both domestic and global expertise, the discussions covered a number of relevant topics from managing the sector´s growing pains, the future sustainability of the “wall” institutional funding driving progress in addition to some interesting operation-led feedback and discussions on the issue of affordability. What Can the British Private Rented Sector Learn from the US? Moderated by Mike Kavanau, senior managing director at Chicago commercial real estate brokers HFF, the comparatively smaller panel of the day started with Michael Ablon, Principal and founding partner at Texas-based PegasusAblon sharing his experiences of the developing build to rent (BTR) projects in the Dallas / Fort Worth areas.  Like much of urban US, this region has seen noticeable signs of densification and... [Read More]