A lively and engaging discussion took place in London at Paragon Mortgages Buy-To-Let Debate, hosted by The Wriglesworth Consultancy on the 27 th February. The ‘Question Time’ debate covered the issue of lending, tenant protection and market predictions for the BTL sector.

John Heron of Paragon Mortgages offered the following advice to attendees: “The costs associated with buying and selling property makes buy-to-let better suited for long-term investment – over 10 to 20 years, rather than two to three.”

John then went on to state that the potential for capital growth aside, average returns of 6-7% for landlords nationally means investor-landlords will see a return of up to 110% of the original property value over a 15 year period.

Richard Lambert of the NLA argued that buy-to-let is a good investment when the buyer has properly researched the market.

He said: “Flat price growth means any capital return is a bonus, placing the emphasis instead on the growth and return from rental prices, which was echoed by the floor. However, Mr. Lambert stated that rent increases are not exponential and are due to plateau in the near future.”

Commenting on future rent trends Valerie Bannister of Your Move said there would be regional variations in rental price growth with London rents being forecast to increase by 26% by 2017, compared to 17% nationwide, but that rent growth would be capped by issues of affordability as wages fail to keep pace.

However Professor Michael Ball of Reading University sounded a more cautionary note and although he agreed with the positive long-term forecasts he voiced his concerns about short-term prospects given the current poor outlook for the UK economy with and inflation high.