Landlords Resilient Amid Market Shocks

Landlords are becoming hardened to economic shocks that once knocked the stuffing out of the housing market.

Two or three decades ago, financial crises brought the housing market to a standstill, but today, no one seems to take fright as house prices and interest rates rise and fall.

Over the past decade, the property market has navigated Brexit, COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, political upheaval across Europe, and some controversial changes in leadership in the USA and the UK.

Despite occasionally pausing to catch their breath, the property market has remained relatively stable, with positive house price growth and good rental returns for landlords, while the number of property transactions each year has held steady.

The private rental sector (PRS) holds around 4.2 million homes owned by around 2.82 million landlords, giving the PRS around a 20 per cent share of the housing market.

Market holds steady

Official data shows these numbers have held steady for several years, cementing the PRS as the second largest home tenure, behind private ownership and ahead of the social rental sector.

Kevin Shaw, national sales managing director at letting agent and estate agency Leaders, says landlords are used to picking up a bruising from economic shocks, partly because they happen more often now than in the past and partly because the market is more secure than in the past.

He explains the latest shockwaves are triggered by US President Donald Trump, who seems to set off a crisis every time he speaks.

"Trump's decision to impose tariffs on goods imported by the USA from the rest of the world has probably had the most wide-reaching consequences, although the UK appears to have got off relatively lightly," said Shaw.

"Any company exporting goods to the United States now has to pay an extra charge, which varies according to the country and type of goods, increasing costs for manufacturers and exporters. It also impacts prices for consumers, demand for those goods, and jobs for workers in the most affected industries.

Rents rising, but landlords selling up

"Towns and cities where car and steel manufacturing are a major part of the local economy are experiencing considerable uncertainty and the prospect of the highest tariffs. Coventry and Derby are at the top of this list, with around 20% of their total exports currently going to the USA."

However, it's not all plain sailing for landlords facing massive upheaval from the Renter's Rights Bill, which is expected to become law later this year.

Looking under the bonnet of the PRS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reveals that tenant demand is up around 22 per cent since the start of the year and has hit a level last seen in September 2024.

However, the number of properties coming to the rental market has dropped by 34 per cent.

As a result, 43 per cent of letting agents expect rents to keep rising as the supply of buy-to-let homes falls short of satisfying demand.