Open Property Group reported increased buying activity involving rental homes in the first half of 2023. LandlordZONE’s July account said the company had seen a 56% annual increase in private-rented-sector purchases. The figure described one commercial buyer’s business, rather than a national count of landlord exits.
The company said it had bought nearly £6 million of property from homeowners and landlords during the six-month period. It also reported a 21% increase in sales activity between the first and second quarters. Those measures covered different comparisons and should not be treated as interchangeable growth rates.
According to the source, almost 90% of the properties were houses. Its reported average purchase price was £132,789 and the typical completion period was twenty-nine days. Those were historical company averages, not a price offer or promised timetable for another seller.
Managing director Jason Harris-Cohen attributed some enquiries to higher financing, management and tax costs. He said additional legislation was a commonly stated motivation among investors approaching the firm. The reasons reported by customers of a particular buying service may differ from those of all landlords considering a sale.
The account also described the onward business model. Some properties were sold through investors, auction houses and estate agents, sometimes after refurbishment or management changes. A purchase by the company therefore did not by itself establish the property’s final use or ultimate owner.
The source said some tenanted homes were bought without requiring residents to leave. That observation distinguishes a change of ownership from a change of occupation, but it does not guarantee the outcome of every transaction or explain the rights applying to an individual tenancy.
This retrospective records a company announcement from July 2023 without endorsing its service, sale-price terms or claims about the wider market. Its useful contribution is a dated account of one channel through which rental properties were changing hands. The scale, customer mix and onward plans of that business remain separate from a complete assessment of UK rental supply.