Buy to let mortgage lending ended 2019 on a high, according to the latest UK Finance Mortgage Lending Trends Statistics just released.
There were 5,700 buy to let mortgages for new property purchases completed in December 2019, 3.6 per cent more than December 2018.
There were 13,300 remortgages in the buy to let sector, 2.3 per cent more than in the same month in 2018.
Buy to let lenders reacted positively to the newly released buy to let mortgage lending figures.
Shaun Church, Director at Private Finance commented: ‘After a period of continuous decline, the buy to let market is finally starting to show signs that it is regaining strength, with buy to let purchase activity up 3.6 per cent year on year. News of a strengthening buy to let market should be welcomed by landlords and renters alike. An increase in buy to let purchase activity will mean a greater supply of rental housing stock, generating more choice and more competitive prices to be enjoyed by renters up and down the UK.
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‘With the Budget around the corner, the Government might be tempted to tweak buy to let regulation further. However, with the buy to let market now more professionalised and starting to show glimmers of growth, we strongly urge the Government to focus on redressing other areas of the market which are in need of attention, primarily the challenges facing last-time buyers and second-steppers.”
Damian Thompson, Group Managing Director – Retail Finance at Aldermore, said: ‘It is encouraging that 2019 finished with the strongest quarter of the year for buy to let volumes, but the sector remains in a ‘new normal’ since the regulatory change, with a continued split between muted house purchase activity and more buoyant remortgaging.
‘Landlords have become more diversified in their needs, with many moving away from a growth strategy focusing more on portfolio management, and the sector is gradually adjusting to the shift towards professionalisation. Whatever a landlord’s future intentions, the increase in regulatory measures and more complicated mortgage applications means specialist lenders are now more vital to the market.’
Source: Residential Landlord