Landlords made up 15 per cent of buyers in Great Britain this November, says Hamptons, which is the highest reading of this metric since December 2016.
The estate agent estimates that landlords will pay £365m in stamp duty taxes on sales agreed between September and November if these are completed before 31 March 2021, with the potential to rise to £440m if not.
The average property price for a landlord, at £180,000, will see a £5,400 stamp duty bill in the former case and a £6,500 bill in the latter.
Landlords are set to buy 134,000 properties in 2020, a small increase on the 133,000 bought last year.
Hamptons adds that 51 per cent of November purchases by landlords were in cash, which is a new record.
Data released by the estate agent also shows that rents grew within Great Britain for the second month in a row measured annually, from a rise of 1.4 per cent in October to 3 per cent in November.
In London, rents rose 0.3 per cent on an annual basis.
Hamptons head of research Aneisha Beveridge says: “Just like in the months leading up to the introduction of the 3 per cent second home surcharge back in 2016, landlords have rushed to take advantage of reduced stamp duty bills. But the difference between today and 2016 is that the stamp duty cliff edge is around five times smaller, meaning the financial impact of missing the deadline is reduced.
“With over half of investor purchases made in cash during November, those taking advantage of the holiday are disproportionately larger investors expanding portfolios rather than new investors starting out. And with landlords also making up a rising proportion of sellers, in many cases, larger landlords are buying homes from smaller landlords.
“The rental market has shown signs that it is shaking off its Covid-induced hangover with rents rising in every region of England for the first time since March. With nearly a fifth fewer new rental homes coming onto the market than last year, it has put upward pressure on the recovery in rental growth. It is, however, likely that the homes being bought by landlords now will hit the rental market early next year which could serve to stifle rental growth in 2021.”
