The number of buy-to-let acquisitions made by later life landlords nearing retirement age increased by more than half following the re-opening of the housing market - more than any other age bracket - Paragon Bank analysis has revealed. 

There was a 52% increase in the number of buy-to-let house purchases made by landlords aged between 60 and 64 in the 12 months to the end of June 2021 compared to the same period the year before. 

This was the highest percentage increase of any age group, according to the analysis of industry data. However, as a proportion of the overall market, this age bracket remained the second smallest at 5% of buy-to-let purchases. 

Richard Rowntree, Paragon Bank managing director, said: “There was a distinct spike in the number of purchases made by those nearing retirement age once the housing market reopened in May 2020. There could be many contributing reasons for this trend, with low returns from savings and stock market volatility being a potential factor as this demographic seeks to boost retirement income. 

“The pandemic may have also led to an increase in people around this age deciding to either take redundancy or early retirement, which would have given them potential access to a lump sum of money to invest, or they are simply experienced landlords who took advantage of the Stamp Duty holiday to lower their purchasing costs.”