The average number of investment properties owned by landlords in England and Wales has increased to 18 – a 50% increase from this time last year.

Fleet Mortgages’ latest Buy-to-Let Rental Barometer reveals that the number owned by its borrowers jumped from 16 in Q2 to 18 in Q3, compared with 12 properties in Q3 2025.

Landlords with 15 or more buy-to-let properties accounted for 30% of applications during the quarter, up from 26% in Q2 and 23% a year ago, while 66% of applications came from landlords owning four or more properties. At the same time, the proportion of applications from landlords with between one and three properties fell from 29% in Q2 to 24%, while first-time landlord applications edged upwards from 9% to 10%.

“Almost a third of our applications are coming from landlords with 15 or more properties, and two-thirds are from those owning at least four,” reports chief commercial officer, Steve Cox. “That suggests professional landlords continue to grow their portfolios where the right opportunities present themselves, even if market conditions influence precisely when they decide to purchase or refinance.”

Purchase

Purchase activity eased during the quarter, accounting for 34% of Fleet business compared with 36% in Q2, although this remained above the 33% recorded during Q1. Limited company borrowing continued to dominate, accounting for 71% of all applications during Q3, although this was down from 78% in the previous quarter.

“Q3 has been another quarter in which advisers and their landlord clients have had to deal with considerable uncertainty, particularly as geopolitical developments have continued to feed through into energy prices, inflation expectations, swap rates and ultimately mortgage pricing,” adds Cox.

Ease

“It is therefore not surprising to see purchase activity ease slightly during the quarter, or rental cover come under further pressure, but we should be careful about interpreting either of those movements as landlords stepping away from buy-to-let.”

The lender also reports that average annual rental yields across England and Wales increased to 7.9% in Q3, up by 0.4% year-on-year. Only two of the 10 regions covered by Fleet - the North West and Wales - recorded an annual fall in average yields.

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