12 Jun Buy to Let is still Big Business!
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, one in every eight pounds of mortgage lending in 2013 has been for a buy to let property and by the end of March, all buy to let lending accounted for a record 13.4% of the £1.2 trillion worth of mortgages in the UK. These figures are up by 13% compared to the last three months of 2012.
The first quarter of 2013, banks and building societies loan 4.2 billion to landlords which is 13% more than 2012 and is 12.4% of the total lending for the period. This takes the total stock of buy to let mortgages to a massive £166 billion in the UK.
Landlords have bought 17,730 new homes in the latest quarter of 2013 at a coat of £1.9 billion. This is the strongest performance for the period since the end of the boom in 2008. However, there has been some concern that the money from the Bank of England’s cheap credit scheme isn’t being used for the greater good of homeowners and first time buyers but to line the pockets of landlords.
Since the Funding for Lending Scheme was launched in August 2012, the average buy to let mortgage rate has changed to 4.28% from 5.09% but the amount of lending that has been given to landlords has risen to 12.4% from 11.3%. These figures may be a cause for concern but on the positive side, first time buyers have also experienced a fall in rates and lending levels has risen according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Buy to let lending rose by 19% in 2012 compared to first time buyer figures which rose by 16% however, the Chancellors other mortgage scheme called Help to Buy has targeted home owner occupiers.
Separate figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders suggest that mortgage avoidances are under control during the first quarter of 2013 with 1.4% in arrears and 8,000 homes repossessed however, it is expected that house repossession will be higher than 2012 rising from 33,900 to an estimated 35,000 by the end of 2013.
What do you make of the latest buy to let figures from the Council of Mortgage Lending? If you would like to purchase a BMV property, visit our Latest Property Deals page to view our ideal buy to let property on offer.