Britain's buy-to-let market is continuing to prove resilient in the face of falling house prices and declining residential mortgages as total lending on homes-for-rental rose 13.6 per cent in the second half of 2007.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said total buy-to-let lending rose from £20.8 billion in the second half of 2006 to £24.1 billion in the final six months of 2007. In the first six months of 2007, total loans granted to landlords reached £21.2 million.
The number of mortgages granted to buy-to-let borrowers rose from 177,200 in the final six months of 2006 to 179,100 in the second half last year.
The CML said it expects the buy-to-let market to remain strong this year, fuelled by first time buyers who cannot afford to get on the first rung of the property ladder, and are choosing to rent instead.
Yesterday, Nationwide Building Society tightened its lending criteria by demanding that buyers must have a deposit of at least 25 per cent to secure a mortgage.
Also, house prices in February rose by just 0.2 per cent, taking the annual rise to just 1.4 per cent according to Hometrack, the property services group. |
