Pension Funds Are Buying Rental Homes — So Is Buy-to-Let Really Dead?

Episode Overview

Pension funds are quietly buying up rental homes across Scotland. If buy-to-let was dying, nobody told them.

Nick and Steven are back with the June market update — running on two hours sleep after Scotland vs Brazil — covering the Prime Minister change, house prices, the rental market, the LHA rate freeze that’s about to hit 45,000 households, and a £10.8 million build to rent deal in Edinburgh backed by your pension fund. Yes, yours.

Episode Timestamps

  • 00:00 – Intro: Scotland vs Brazil, two hours sleep, six episodes to record
  • 01:25 – What’s coming up: PM change, house prices, rents, LHA & build to rent
  • 01:50 – House prices & rental market overview
  • 01:58 – Local housing allowance — why it matters to landlords
  • 02:36 – Build to rent & pension funds flooding into Scottish property
  • 03:27 – Keir Starmer resigns — what happened
  • 04:18 – Andy Burnham likely next PM — and his history with rent freezes
  • 04:28 – Rent controls in England: why Scotland is one step ahead
  • 05:21 – Capital gains tax: what a new Labour leader could mean for landlords
  • 14:20 – Fred Harrison’s 18-year cycle — five months left for the 2026 crash prediction
  • 15:36 – SpaceX IPO: Elon Musk becomes a trillionaire
  • 20:01 – First Home Fund launched this week — will it empty in days again?
  • 21:56 – Land Registry data: Scotland up 2.2%
  • 23:57 – Bitcoin at $59k — down 50% from its peak
  • 31:15 – LHA rate freeze: 87 of 90 regions can’t cover the bottom 30% of rents
  • 34:30 – Scotland’s discretionary housing payment — sticking plaster or real solution?
  • 35:52 – 45,000 households and 31,000 children affected
  • 35:57 – Scotland puts in £8.7m in support
  • 36:43 – Avant Homes sells 41 Edinburgh homes to Thriving Investments for £10.8m
  • 37:52 – £263k per home — and who’s actually funding it
  • 38:19 – Is mid-market rent exempt from rent controls? The question nobody can answer

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