Refurbishments and HMOs most popular specialist property types

According to Castle Trust Bank’s Pulse Surveys, approximately 40 per cent of brokers said that refurbishment was the top choice for their clients.

Nearly a quarter said that HMOs were the most popular choice amongst their customers, followed by property conversion at around 18 per cent.

Holiday lets were cited by 11 per cent of brokers as their most popular choice and multi-unit lets made up around eight per cent.

When asked what the least popular specialist property type was, around 45 per cent said holiday let, followed by just over a third citing property conversion and 11 per cent pointing to refurbishment.

Around eight per cent said HMOs were the least popular and nearly three per cent said multi-unit lets were the least popular.

The most important factor for a broker in choosing a mortgage lender are speed of decision at nearly 29 per cent, followed by certainty of decision at 24 per cent and then rate at 21 per cent.

Refurb most common way to to increase returns

Anna Lewis, commercial director at Castle Trust Bank, said: “The Castle Trust Pulse survey provides a snapshot of the trends and challenges brokers are currently experiencing in the bridging market, and the first set of results make for interesting reading.

“Landlords are increasingly looking at ways they can increase their returns and property refurbishment is the most common way they choose to do this.”

She added: “When it comes to choice of lender, speed and certainty are at the forefront for brokers, with rate having less prominence. This perhaps reflects the recent environment of uncertainty and frequent rate rises, where speed of decision has often made a significant impact on the rate a client has been able to achieve.

“However, in a competitive market, speed and certainty have always been crucial in bridging, enabling investors to respond quickly to market opportunities and build their portfolios.”