0:01 AM, 14th May 2025, About 9 months ago 2
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The buy to let mortgage sector has experienced a sharp decline, with searches last month dropping to 14.74% of the total market – the lowest since tracking began in January 2020, research reveals.
According to Twenty7tec, this marked a stark contrast to the previous month, when BTL activity was near record highs.
It says that the £150,000–£250,000 price range saw a particularly steep fall, with searches down by more than 24%.
A director of the firm, Nathan Reilly, said: “April’s mortgage market painted a picture of contrasts.
“Just last month, buy to let searches were among the highest we’ve ever recorded.
Fast forward to April, and we’re seeing the lowest share of the market for BTL activity since we began tracking – particularly in the £150k–£250k range, where searches fell by more than 24%.”
He added: “Is this just a blip, or are we seeing the start of a longer-term shift?”
Meanwhile, self-employed borrowers drove a surge in activity, with searches peaking on April 28 and 29, reaching unprecedented levels.
First-time buyers also remained a strong force, accounting for nearly a quarter of all searches for the fifth consecutive month.
Advisers reported heightened activity, especially in the 90%+ loan-to-value (LTV) market, where four of the seven busiest days for ESIS documents were recorded.
Two days also ranked among the top 20 for residential purchase searches.
Borrowers also showed a clear preference for flexibility, with 44.13% of fixed-rate product searches targeting two-year or shorter terms, up from 40.95% in March.
Product availability stayed robust, hitting 25,266 early in the month and slightly increasing by month-end.
Average applicant salaries also climbed to new peaks, reflecting evolving borrower profiles.
Mr Reilly said: “April’s figures show that the market is still very much in motion, with advisers and customers responding in real time to shifts in product availability, affordability and wider sentiment.
“Either way, we encourage advisers and lenders to keep a close eye on how things unfold in the months ahead.”
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Member Since March 2022 - Comments: 352
12:35 PM, 14th May 2025, About 8 months ago
So, despite dropping rates the BTL loan applications are not flooding in, not really a surprise. All the indications are that PRS landlords are leaving and new ones are not lining up to take their place. It is not worth the risk unless you can manage without rent (mortgage) money for a year or so and are willing to risk the courts without corporate lawyers on permanent retainers behind you like the build to let companies have.
When section 21 goes how many landlords faced with tenant problems like arrears, impossible to prove antisocial behaviour and property damage etc. will just opt to sell up rather than rely on a glacial, biased court decision? Even then, I wonder what hoops we will have to jump through in order to sell our own property and how long it will take.
Minor celebration for us today, a tenant has just handed in their notice. The sales arm of our letting agency will now be dealing with this property for us. Maybe it will be snapped up by another PRS landlord and become their potential problem, but somehow I doubt it.
Michael Crofts
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Member Since December 2022 - Comments: 82
10:07 AM, 15th May 2025, About 8 months ago
I think I know what is going to happen, based on what happened when the tax rules changed. For a long time nothing happened. Some landlords just weren’t aware they couldn’t offset mortgage interest (and some didn’t even know they had been doing so because “my accountant deals with all that”). Gradually landlords got nasty surprises from HMRC and some started selling. Eventually a lot sold or managed to convert to corporate status to retain the tax status. Anyway the result was a trickle of exodus, not a flood.
If I am right, and the same thing happens when the Renters’ Rights Acts passes, nothing much will happen for a while. But then news will start coming out about repossession horror stories, and then the first stories about fines – large fines imposed not by courts but by local authorities which are being given a huge incentive to hire officers to go out and look for trouble. Eventually it will become commonplace for 99% of the population to think, ‘The last thing i want to be is a PRS landlord’ and every time a tenant gives notice the vacant property will be sold.
I told the government in consultation (and anyone else who might listen) that I remember the PRS before the 1988 Act when only a fool would buy a vacant house or flat and offer it for rent and I am certain that we are heading back in that direction. I predict the number of homes offered by the PRS will shrink over a period of 10 years to 25% or less of what it is now.