Landlords will buy a slightly higher proportion of homes in 2022 than they did in 2021, according to Hamptons. The firm says that so far this year 12.2% of homes were bought by an investor in Great Britain, the highest level since 2016 and up marginally from the 11.7% recorded during 2021. However, purchases remain below their 15.5% peak in 2015, the year before the 3% stamp duty surcharge was introduced. 

Despite the proportion rising between 2021 and 2022 however, fewer sales overall mean the absolute number of investor purchases will be down by around 30,000 on last year. 

Hamptons stated: ‘Earlier in the year, many landlords struggled to make deals stack-up while paying record prices and facing stiff competition from other buyers. Instead, they chose to sit back and wait. The proportion of investors paying over the asking price remained above 40% throughout 2021, before peaking at 48% in April 2022 (alongside the wider market). 

‘However, over the last few months some landlords have re-emerged, turning their attention to homes which have been lingering on the market. In November 37% of offers by landlords were on homes without any competing offers, up from just 14% in January. A less competitive market means that in November just 25% of investor purchases were agreed above the asking price, compared to 30% among first-time buyers.’