Moneyfacts data has revealed first-time landlords now have access to 664 mortgage products compared to 574 in April and 396 deals two years ago.
Spokesperson for Moneyfacts, Charlotte Nelson, said given that 60,000 pensioners were taking advantage of the freedoms it was highly likely some of this money would be withdrawn to purchase a UK investment property.
“Savings rates are currently so poor that many are looking elsewhere to fund their retirement,” said Nelson.
Specialist mortgage lender Kensington told brokers at a Mortgage Solutions roadshow in April that a ‘wall of cash’ was heading in the direction of the buy-to-let market.
A survey conducted by Kensington of 900 working over-40s revealed the appetite but not the understanding of the buy-to-let market was prevalent.
The results showed that 45% of pension savers said they were considering investing in buy to let but 32% of those people said they didn’t know how to go about it. Of that 32%, 12% of people had never heard of a buy-to-let mortgage.
Speaking at the roadshow, Steve Griffiths, head of sales and distribution at Kensington, said this influx of inexperienced landlords to the sector would make the role of the broker more valuable than ever.
Griffiths said brokers would add value by being able to go beyond advising on the transaction by looking at the whole experience of owning a buy-to-let property, the void periods, repairs, tenancy and tenant types, not just the mortgage rate.
