Could fall in home sales be good news for landlords?
Landlords may be experiencing stronger demand for their buy-to-let properties due to a decline in house sales.
According to figures from Lloyds TSB, there has been a 47 per cent drop in sales of residential homes since 2007.
In 2010, there were around 650,000 sales across England and Wales, compared to 1.2 million three years earlier.
However, the decline in sales in the south of the country has been smaller than that in the north, down 42 per cent compared to 51 per cent.
Suren Thiru, housing economist at Lloyds TSB, described the fall in house purchase activity as "substantial".
"The current level of activity remains significantly below historic levels despite most regions seeing some increase in transactions in 2010," he remarked.
"A north-south divide appears to have opened up in the housing market with both home sales and price growth in the south proving more resilient than the north over the last few years."
He predicted that overall levels of buyer activity will remain "somewhat subdued for the foreseeable future", which could be good news for buy-to-let investors.
Indeed, recent research by HSBC revealed that just one-fifth of aspiring homeowners expect to be able to purchase a property within the next five years.
Some 45 per cent of those questioned said they do not ever see themselves owning their own home due to the large deposits required, the size of mortgage payments and concerns over unemployment.
This means activity in the lettings market may be stronger in the years ahead as more individuals, couples and families turn to rented accommodation as an alternative to buying.
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