Commercial
finance Self
Build Mortgage Buy
to Let Property Portfolio
Is
the Buy-to-let Boom Over?
The
restrictions on mortgage lending to would-be letting landlords
are already impacting on the UK’s buy-to-let market.
A survey recently released by the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows that the number of new
instructions from landlords fell towards the end of last
year for the first time since 1998.
Access
to the buy-to-let market become harder for would-be landlords
as mortgage products become scarce, says the report by
RICS. One per cent more chartered surveyors reported a
fall than a rise in landlord instructions. The credit
crunch has restricted the number of buy-to-let mortgages
approved, as well as the number of mortgages available
to investors.
However, the report counteracted claims from the Council
of Mortgage Lenders that in fact the number of buy-to-let
loans went up by a quarter last year, taking the number
of such mortgages existing up to 1,038,000. The
CML said that lending had in fact picked up in the second
half of the year.
Our
figures are based on just the last quarter of the year,
by which time we believe mortgage lenders had started
to tighten their lending criteria, said a RICS spokesman
in response to the report last month. However, the RICS
report made it clear that the letting market in the UK
is still buoyant.
While
banks remain cautious about offering loans, demand for
rental property will continue to increase, with many would-be
buyers unable to make the jump to home ownership, it said.
Established investors continue to reap the benefits of
the current uncertainty in the housing market and have
been enjoying the fruits of rising rents.
Other signs indicate that the buy-to-let boom is not over
quite yet. Paragon recently reported that rents were rising
at their fastest rate on record 8 per cent in the last
quarter alone and buy-to-let specialist Bradford and Bingley
explained this as a result of demand from students and
immigrants. They also said that first-time buyers who
are holding off because they fear a crash or because they
are no longer eligible for a competitive mortgage deal
are boosting the buy-to-let market.
With prices falling, the UK may soon be a more favourable
market for buyers. Although short-term investors may be
deterred by rumours of a property market crash, landlords
who are in it for the long-haul are likely to benefit
when prices have fallen sufficiently. If you're planning
on getting into the market, then take a look at buy to
let mortgages from Alliance and Leicester they also have
a useful mortgage
calculator so you can easily work out what to afford.
Some
Buy to let mortgage are not regulated by the Financial
Services Authority. For
information regarding a landlord's mortgage on a buy to
let property, a commercial mortgage broker may help you
now, so please contact
us
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