Buy-to-let borrowers have become more cautious, but the market remains buoyant, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents’ (ARLA) member-survey of trends.
ARLA confirmed the mortgage lenders on its panel had reported the average monthly total of completed buy-to-let loans rose 30% in the last six months, to 1,543, although the average loan size only rose 2.4% on the previous average to £80,100.
London and the South East still take the greatest share of all new buy-to-let mortgages with 43.9% of the national total, including Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Midlands accounted for 14.2%, the North East 14.2%, the North West (including North Wales) 12.6% and the South West (including South Wales) 12.8%.
The means of repaying the loan also varies from region to region. Interest-only loans are more popular in the South East and the South West of the UK, while those in Scotland and Northern Ireland favour combined capital and interest repayment.
Discussing the findings, John Crossley, chairman of ARLA, said: ‘When you consider the soaring house prices, this clearly demonstrates a buoyant market for investors taking a properly cautious attitude to their investment. Apart from killing the twin myths of ‘bubbles’ and ‘burst,’ these figures augur well for the health of the private rented sector in particular and for the housing market in general.’
