Grey pound buying in to buy to let

There has been a higher percentage of older people investing in income producing properties as they approach retirement, a bigger rise than any other age group.

In the year to July, there was a 52% increase in the number of buy to let purchases by investors theit early 60s, although in absolute numbers, 35 to 50 year olds remain the largest age group among new buyers.

Commenting on the figures, Richard Rowntree, managing director of buy to let lender Paragon Bank, said “There was a distinct spike in the number of purchases made by those nearing retirement age once the housing market reopened in May 2020.

“There could be many contributing reasons for this trend, with low returns from savings and stock market volatility being a potential factor as this demographic seeks to boost retirement income.

“The pandemic may have also led to an increase in people around this age deciding to either take redundancy or early retirement, which would have given them potential access to a lump sum of money to invest, or they are simply experienced landlords who took advantage of the Stamp Duty holiday to lower their purchasing costs. Of course, sadly, inheritance can also result in a one-off cash boost.

“While there was a sharp increase in older landlords purchasing new homes, it was also encouraging to see the majority of purchases in terms of absolute numbers being made by those aged between 35 and 50.

“This suggests that there’s a strong pipeline of younger landlords growing portfolios.”