Total buy to let lending has reached a new record level, as property investors take advantage of low interest rates and cash in on high rents.
The first three months of this year saw £4.2bn of buy to let mortgage lending, which was 12.4% of the total - up from 11% a year ago and the highest since the credit crunch dealt a blow to investors in 2008.
And the Council of Mortgage Lenders says that buy to let lending now stands at 13.4% of all outstanding mortgages, a rise from 12.9% last year and the highest recorded since buy to let caught on in the 1990s.
Buy to let investors continue to beat other purchasers in the house buying stakes.
Does it matter? Well, buy-to-letters are snapping up property which owner-occupiers might purchase.
Then they cash in on high rents.
They have an advantage in that they can deduct interest from their profits and pay less tax.
And lenders like them because they have a better record on meeting their monthly payments - on average, anyway.
So if you're competing against a buy to let investor to purchase a home, you're less likely to win.
I managed to buy a first home recently. Had to get in there quick though and the property was not quite right for buytolet maybe.
ReplyDelete