Females get the buy-to-let bug

Posted: 28 Mar 2006 11:18:08 GMT

New research has found that patterns are changing in the property investment sector, with women buying 24 per cent of all buy-to-let properties so far this year.

This represents a significant increase on the 20 per cent last year, although 2005 did see something of an anomalous dip after 21 per cent and 22 per cent in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

The research, from Landlord Mortgages, was centred on 20,000 landlords and landladies and it suggests that buy-to-let property investment is no longer the reserve of the male investor.

It follows a report from the US where CBS News found that single women in the property investment market were outnumbering single men by a significant margin. While men are still in the majority in the UK buy-to-let sector, the research has suggested that it is an imbalance that may well be redressed in the years to come.

One of the most notable findings from Landlord Mortgages was that female buy-to-let investors typically pay £142,000 for a property, while male investors pay an average of just £120,739. Analysts are suggesting that this may reflect a basic divide in priorities, with men more likely to favour properties in need of renovation.

"It is great to see that the number of landladies is steadily increasing as more and more women realise the investment opportunities offered by residential property," said Lee Grandin, managing director of Landlord Mortgages.

"However, I don't believe that these figures capture the true extent of female involvement in the residential property market. We know that almost 40 per cent of property investors purchase and manage their portfolio as a married couple so I'm sure there are many more landladies than this research shows," he added.


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