FTAdviser.com - Higher value properties entering buy-to-let market

FTAdviser.com - Higher value properties entering buy-to-let market

The beginning of 2011 saw an influx of higher value property into the private rental sector, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla).

Research by Arla shows an 11.6 per cent increase in the average capital value of rental houses from £401,400 to £447,900 for the first three months of 2011, above the last market peak of £442,600 in 2007, thanks to an influx of high value properties into the space.

The trade body said this growth was driven by London and the South East, with a 14.8 per cent increase in average capital value in central London and 16.2 per cent in the rest of the South East.

The rest of the UK experienced a drop of 5.2 per cent.

Ian Potter, operations manager of Arla, said the association believed the increase in the overall average capital value of rental properties had been driven by different types of home being offered to let.