Younger people are opting to invest in property over pensions, new data from buy-to-let mortgage broker Commercial Trust shows.
Only two age demographics – those aged 20 to 29 years old and those aged 30 to 39 – have recorded continued year-on-year market share growth for buy-to-let purchase applications since 2015.
Over the last three years, there has been a decline in the proportion of applications from people aged 60 or over.
Andrew Turner, chief executive at Commercial Trust Limited, said: “The figures suggest that younger people can see the value in investing in bricks and mortar – and perhaps this is an indicator that they perceive property investment as a sounder investment than pensions in the longer term.
“What is also interesting from these statistics is that rather than seeing an increase in buy-to-let applications from people reaching retirement age, we have seen a fall in market share from 2015 to 2017.”
The introduction of Pension Freedoms in 2015 – which allowed anyone aged 55 and over to take the whole amount as a lump sum, paying no tax on the first 25 per cent and the rest taxed as if it were a salary at their income tax rate – was expected to result in a surge in the number of buy-to-let investments from retirees, looking to receive rental income and potentially capital growth, to fund their retirement.
“Whilst Commercial Trust saw an initial burst of application activity from the over 60s in 2015, this has not been sustained through the two subsequent calendar years,” said Mr Turner.
“Since 2015, the market share for this demographic has fallen from 25 per cent to 18.8 per cent for 2017.
“The biggest market share continues to come from those aged 40 to 49 years old, with three years of consistent application activity, which consistently accounts for just under a third of all purchase applications and has seen just a 0.8 per cent fluctuation over the past three full years.”
Source: Simple Landlords Insurance