Buy-to-let market grows in stature
Published On 6 February 2007
The buy-to-let market in the UK is a vibrant as ever with investor landlord activity continuing to grow at a pronounced pace, new research has shown. In fact, two thirds (70 per cent) of all the buy-to-let applications in December were for mortgage products under a 70 per cent loan to value (LTV) level, reports Alliance & Leicester Mortgages.
This growth represents a 23 per cent increase when compared with November and spells further growth in the sector in the coming year as many Brits try to emulate the buy-to-let success stories seen on TV programmes such as Channel 4's Property Ladder with Sarah Beeny.
Mehrdad Yousefi, Alliance & Leicester mortgage spokesman, said: "We are continuing to see an increase in buy-to-let applications, with figures on an upward trend right up until year end.
"This seems likely to pave the way for solid growth into 2007 for this market. Investor landlords are seeing a very buoyant buy-to-let market, with the average property purchase price in December at £230,806 – 24 per cent higher than the average UK house price in 2006, which stood at £186,035."
"In a rising base rate environment, figures show that some investor landlords are beginning to opt for base rate tracker mortgages, which are competitively priced at between 13 and 38 basis points below fixed rate mortgages."
