A new survey of 170 property investors has revealed that many are not being deterred by the forthcoming changes in stamp duty land tax.
The investigation by Shawbrook suggests that 56% of their clients are looking to purchase a buy-to-let property within the next year.
Tax changes
With the tax changes fast approaching, the survey also revealed that 40% of investors plan to launch a limited company for their properties to soften the impact. 33% said that they planned to increase rents as a result of the alterations.
These new changes to both stamp duty and tax relief have led many investors to reassess their ambitions. Of the 44% of people who said they did not plan on purchasing a new buy-to-let property in the next twelve months, 37% said this was due to the tax relief changes. 16% said that the 3% stamp duty levy on second homes and buy-to-let properties was the reason they will not be investing.
Issues
In addition, the changes show that 49% of clients believe regulation to be the largest challenge facing property investors during the next six months. This is a huge jump from the same time last year, where only 23% of investors believed regulations to be their biggest investment hurdle.
Upcoming tax changes not deterring many landlords
Encouragingly, despite the changes, 61% of respondents said that they had a positive outlook for the next year. This proportion believe there will be an increase in property value over the coming year. 43% said they saw an increase in tenant demand in 2015, with 61% saying their rental income also rose.
44% said that they were confident their business would grow further during 2015.
Positivity
Karen Bennett, Sales and Marketing Director Commercial Mortgages noted, ‘as a lender, it is always great to see such positivity in the market and as with our Broker Barometer conducted in late 2015, it seems that there is a lot of optimism amongst property professionals also. Obviously the new changes will have an effect and may instill more caution across the market; however, Shawbrook is well-placed to adapt to change and we are expecting the market to remain buoyant.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/majority-of-btl-investors-say-its-business-as-usual-despite-tax-changes.html