Speaking at the Buy to Let Online Forum on Wednesday, Ben Williams corporate relationship director at Coventry Building Society (pictured), said the number of lenders in the buy to let space could keep prices competitive.
However, with mainstream residential rates starting at 1.4 per cent in some cases, Williams said he did not expect buy-to-let rates to fall much further.
Williams said: “In the buy-to-let world, it’s as much about criteria as it is about rates.
“A lot of the time, products are driven more by whether the customer’s circumstances meet the lender criteria. Then rates always become a little secondary, unless they’re low loan to values. Maybe there will be some change in buy to let rates, but I can’t see them dropping hugely from where they are now.”
Secure BTL market
Williams was also asked if the return of 95 per cent loan to value products and the mortgage guarantee scheme would negatively affect tenancy as people were incentivised to purchase their own homes.
He predicted there would be little impact on the sector.
Williams said: “Thinking about pre-Covid, most mainstream lenders were offering 95 per cent LTV mortgages anyway. It didn’t have a hugely detrimental impact on buy to let then, so no reason to suggest it will do now.
“There will be some private tenants that will look to get on the housing ladder because of the scheme but I really don’t see it being hugely different to what it was pre-Covid.”
