Britain’s BTL market rebounds, figures show

The buy-to-let market in Britain in 2019 has picked up and gained momentum.

According to figures published by UK Finance this October, the number of properties bought through buy-to-let mortgages have increased every month in the past seven months, other than one discrepancy in June.

In August 2019, 5,900 investors bought a rental home with a BTL mortgage. This was a significant increase on February this year, when 4,800 homes were bought with a buy-to-let mortgage, 23% less than August.

The value of lending via BTL mortgages increased from around £6bn in February to £8bn in August.

The data suggests that both the number of new landlords and existing landlords expanding their property portfolios are on the rise.
Nick Morrey, a product technical manager at the independent mortgage broker John Charcol, describes the increase as being due to landlords realising that purchasing BTL through limited companies is “the way forward.”

“The landlords that were going to leave the market have left, and those that are left have moved into the limited company space and have realised they can borrow what they need in a tax efficient way,” said Morrey.

UK Finance’s data reveals that buy-to-let continues to be an attractive market for investors in Britain, despite the raft of changes the government has introduced in recent years.

Purchasing buy-to-let investments through property auctions provides an efficient way to buy a property, complete quickly and be letting it out without delay.

If you are an existing landlord or are thinking about getting onto the BTL market in Britain, take a look at the properties listed in our next property auction in London, many of which would make good rental investments.