This morning (Friday, 1 July 2022) on BBC’s Today program (06:16), Steve Hughs, Chief Executive of the Coventry Building Society, confirmed that their buy to let business are seeing a net exodus of landlords, as they sell up, quoting changes in tax and legislation as motivation. Although he did not provide supporting numbers, he implied that the ratio is similar to the recently reported 8% of landlords adding to their portfolios, while 11% are selling up.

He also forecast a softening of house prices, with a modest decline, as interest rates rise as the cost of funds lead to more interest rate rises, whilst noting the housing supply shortage. He went on to highlight that the Base Rate could increase to 3% in 2023

His comments followed confirmation from the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, when he said that “there will be circumstances where we have to do more” about the prospect of raising interest rates more sharply from the current Base Rate of 1.25%, with the prospect of a 0.5% increase to 1.75%

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_fourfm