Buy-to-let (BTL) lending continued to grow in Q3 2011, with 34,500 BTL loans throughout the industry advanced at a value of £3.8bn. This represented a rise of 16% by volume and 19% by value compared to Q2.
There were an estimated 1.38 million BTL mortgages (worth £157bn) outstanding at the end of Q3 2011, up on 1.3 million outstanding loans (worth £150bn) at the end of Q2. BTL continued to represent 12% of the total value of mortgages outstanding.
An increase in house purchase lending made the largest contribution to the increase in total BTL lending. House purchase BTL lending rose to £1.88bn in Q3 – a 27% increase on the Q2 figure. There was £1.89bn of remortgage lending Q3 – an 11% increase compared to Q2.
This shows that new landlords are coming into the market and existing landlords are expanding their portfolios.
More people are renting and void periods are thought to be at record lows. So all good news for investors/landlords!