Buy To Let Mortgages up Nearly 10%

According to the latest official figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), buy to let mortgage lending continues to rise.

The CML are the trade body for most banks and building societies lending to landlords . The CML have reported that property investors borrowed £2.4 billion in November 2014.

Lending was split roughly 50:50 between remortgages and loans to buy new homes.

Lending was down 10% on the number of loans for October and around 11% on money lent, however the year-on-year stats show the number of loans was up 9% and amount of money borrowed increased by 14%.

Property investors bought 12% fewer houses in November than October, but 6% more compared to the previous 12 months.

There are around 375 buy to let market mortgage deals, though many are variations of products, such as lenders bolsting their buy to let mortgage listings by offering the same mortgage at different loan-to-values. In reality this is one product split into three.

The good news for property investors is buy to let mortgage rates are falling.

Leeds Building Society is offering one of the lowest rates – a 1.84% fix for two years.

Other lenders who have revamped their buy to let product ranges recently include Accord and The Mortgage Trust.

The Mortgage Works, the buy to let brand of Nationwide Building Society, has launched a 10 year fix for landlords at 4.99% at 75% loan-to-value with a £995 arrangement fee.

The lender also has a number of five-year fixes.

As a long term investment, the future is also looking positive for property investors, with house prices increasing. According to the ONS, prices increased by 10.4% in England, 3.1% in Wales and 4.4% in Scotland in the year to the end of November.