Buy-to-let returns beat all other mainstream investments

Buy-to-let landlords have earned returns of up to 1,400 per cent since 1996, outstripping those returns from investment in shares, bonds and cash. The research by the Wriglesworth Consultancy, on behalf of Landbay, found that on average, £1,000 invested in a buy-to-let asset in the final quarter of 1996 was worth £14,987 by the end of last year. This was more than four times than the equivalent investment in commercial property, UK Government bonds or shares and seven times the return on cash. Despite a few downturns in the housing market over the past 18 years, including the slump following the financial crisis, overall strong levels of capital growth and soaring rental values have ensured that landlords have reaped the rewards. The analysis was based on a buy-to-let investor using the rental income to pay off their mortgage, clearing it after 13 years and cashing in during the final five. Many of those buy-to-let investors who have not sold their properties, but continue to hold on to their residential assets, may have found that the rental value of their property investments may have risen further in recent months. The latest HomeLet rental index shows that residential rents across the UK…