“Buy-To-Let-To-Retire” Is The New Downsizing

One in five over 55s are considering buying their ideal retirement home now and letting it out until they retire, according to research from a pensions provider.  Prudential found that more than half of pension savers plan to raid their pension savings to fund their ideal retirement home. Prudential says the trend of ‘buy-to-let-to-retire’ appears to be challenging the traditional route of simply selling up and downsizing as a one-off property deal on retirement. Of those over-55s who have already made a buy-to-let investment, nearly one in three (32%) said they had done so to secure a property to live in one day. Read more on the Landlord Today website.

Prudential Invests In 'Generation Rent' In £100m Deal

Insurer Prudential is buying more than 500 houses and flats to let in London and the south of England, in a calculated bet on years of good returns from 'Generation Rent'. In a deal worth £105.4m, the Pru's real-estate management arm, Prupim, is buying a portfolio of 534 private rental units from upmarket housebuilder Berkeley. The homes are a mix of studio flats and one, two and three-bedroom houses in 13 locations, including Hendon, Lewisham, Croydon, and Gosport and Cirencester. The deal follows last month's budget announcement from chancellor George Osborne that the "build to rent" fund – intended to boost homes for private rent – would increase to £1bn, from £800m, as the government bids to encourage new homes for rent in a more "professional" private market. Read more on the Guardian website.