Equifax report BTL sales down 26% in March

Equifax report BTL sales down 26% in March

14:42 PM, 20th April 2016, About 8 years ago

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The Credit reference agency Equifax have reported that Buy to Let sales were down in March by £1.04billion which equates to 26.2% month on month.Equifax

This is rather surprisingly despite the predicted last minute rush for property investors to purchase before the 3% surcharge in stamp duty came into effect for second homes on the 1st of April.

Conversely Equifax report residential sales for the same period increased by 1.4% to a record £12.95billion since the crash in 2008. The average value of a residential property purchase in March according to their figures was £190,091 compared to the average Buy to Let purchase of £157,819.

Iain Hill Equifax Touchstone relationship manager said, “recent Buy to Let mortgage flows indicate that borrowers took the advice of their lenders, and initiated transactions in good time to avoid an eleventh-hour panic.

The big question from here is, to what extent will the new stamp duty rates discourage investors from entering into new deals? With so much economic uncertainty, property remains an attractive investment option for many people.

Given the rollercoaster first quarter of 2016, it will be interesting to see where sales trends go from here.”

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