Buy To Let Mortgage Lending On The Rise

The Buy To Let Mortgage market is showing modest signs of recovery as lending rose by 12% in the third quarter.

The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that but to let lending is increasing as demand for rental properties soar.

There were 26,900 buy-to-let loans advanced in the third quarter, worth £2.8 billion. This quarterly rise of 8% by volume and 12% by value is the second consecutive quarterly increase in lending.

Compared to the third quarter of 2009, the volume of lending was up 14% and the value up 33%, from 23,700 and £2.1 billion respectively.

With first time buyers still facing difficulties in securing a place on the property market, the demand for rental properties remains high, although there are lingering uncertainties about the new housing benefit rules and how they will affect landlords.

“We would expect buy-to-let demand to pick up further if current rising rental trends continue and house prices remain broadly stable”, says Michael Coogan, CML director general.

“The bigger question is whether there will be sufficient supply side capacity to meet that demand, as the number of buy-to-let lenders dwindled in the credit crunch after 2007 and is yet to be fully restored.”, he went on to say.