The typical buy-to-let investor has reduced the size of their portfolio by as much as 27% across England and Wales in recent years.

The claim comes from the Open Property Group which says its analysis of data on portfolio sizes shows that with an average of 8.5 homes, the typical professional investor has reduced their portfolio size by 1.6% in the past 12 months alone.

However, across some regions, the reduction has been far more pronounced and nowhere more so than Yorkshire and the Humber, which has seen 27% drop.

The West Midlands is down 19% and the South West 13%.

The average size of a buy-to-let portfolio has also reduced across the North East, central London market, East Midlands and East of England. However, there has been growth across outer London, the North West, South East and Wales. 

However, while rents may be climbing, the figures also show that profit margins are in decline, with the average rental yield falling by as much as 1% across the North West and central London regions. 

An Open Property Group spokesperson says: “Much has been made about the landlord exodus in recent times and it’s fair to say that the severity of this trend has been largely exaggerated. However, the figures do suggest that while buy-to-let investors may not be exiting completely, they are reducing the size of their rental property portfolios.”