Landlords 'report house sale profits'

A quarter of landlords who have sold property in the past two years have made a profit of at least 30 per cent, new figures indicate.

The poll from Alliance & Leicester could be good news for buy-to-let landlords looking for capital appreciation.

About ten per cent of investors sold a letting property in the last two years, the figures reveal, with 29 per cent of these sold to new or existing landlords.

Of the landlords that sold property within the past two years, the average ownership tenure was three and a half years and just two per cent of landlords reported a loss on their property, Alliance & Leicester stated.

Head of specialist mortgages at Alliance & Leicester Jeremy Claridge said: "The research paints an optimistic view of the buy-to-let market with all but two per cent of landlords, reporting they have achieved capital growth on their properties when sold in the last two years."

He added that recent figures point to slowing house price growth so landlords should plan for all eventualities.

Research firm Mintel estimates that around one million people own buy-to-let property in the UK, a figure that is expected to double by 2010.

Landlord Mortgages “Capital Gains Tax on selling a Buy To Let Property will ensure that a mass exodus does not materialise.”

Rics: House prices rise for 18th month in a row

The housing market remains in "rude health" with house prices rising despite an increase in property for sale, a new report claims, good news for buy-to-let investors looking for capital appreciation.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), house prices rose for the 18th consecutive month in April, driven by increases particularly in London, the south-east and East Anglia.

The firm said that 28.9 per cent more chartered surveyors reported a rise rather than a fall in prices, an increase from March's 26.9 per cent, with the pace of increases remaining above the 21.6 per cent long-term average.

However, the number of homes put on the market rose, thought to be related to the planned introduction of home information packs (Hips) on June 1st as sellers rush to avoid the costs of assembling them, Rics said.

Rics spokesman Ian Perry commented: "Last week's interest rate hike may not be the last as the housing market has not slowed as quickly as expected given the initial round of rate rises."

With the market experiencing tight conditions and prices still "buoyant" another rate rise in the summer is likely, he added.

Hips should cost sellers between £300 and £400 to put together, including the cost of an Energy Performance Certificate, according to figures from the Association of Home Information Pack Providers.

CLG: Annual house price inflation at 10.9%

The average house price in the UK rose to £206,890 in March, up from £204,556 the month before, new figures indicate.

In news that may be of interest to buy-to-let investors, annual house price inflation stood at 10.9 per cent in March, the data from the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) shows.

This was a slowdown from the 11.1 per cent rate of annual inflation in February, however.

London was the English region with the strongest house price growth in March, with annual inflation standing at 13.9 per cent, bringing the price of a typical property to £316,308.

Northern Ireland was the only home country in which the rate of house price growth increased in March, from 48.5 per cent to 50.1 per cent, the report revealed.

Semi-detached houses experienced the largest growth in average prices across the month (2.2 per cent), followed by terraced houses (1.5 per cent) and flats (1.1 per cent).

Property consultancy Knight Frank recently reported that the central London lettings market had seen a strong start to the year, with rents now 10.1 per cent higher than during the same period in 2006.