Buy to let loans rise as market woes heal
BUY to let lending jumped sharply in the last year, industry figures showed yesterday, though the sector remains far smaller than it was in its 2007 peak.
Lending in the first quarter hit £3.7bn in 32,000 loans, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
This was up 32 per cent on the same period of 2011, but remains at just a third of its pre-crisis levels.
“Even though buy-to-let lending is running at only around a third of its peak levels, the sector is continuing its gradual expansion,” said the CML’s Paul Smee.
“It has become an important part of the overall landscape of housing provision in the UK.”
Meanwhile the wider housing market has been hit by the expiry of the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers at the end of March and banks’ raised deposit requirements.
The number of loans for purchasing typical first-time buyer properties fell five per cent to 11,307 in April – the lowest level in nine years, according to separate e.surv data out today.
The average deposit on mortgages rose to 40 per cent in the month as tough credit conditions in international markets hit consumers looking to take out mortgages – a situation which e.surv expects to continue into the summer.