Insurance News Archive

Buy-to-let reaches record high

Buy-to-let lending has hit a record high and now accounts for almost a tenth of all UK lending, accounting to new figures.

Council of Mortgages Lenders (CML) data reveal in the first half of the year £17.5 billion was lent in the form of buy-to-let mortgages in 152,500 loans.

In total, there are now 767,000 outstanding residential buy-to-let mortgages in the UK worth £83.9 billion.

CML director general Michael Coogan said: "The buy-to-let market remains robust, underpinned by strong rental demand. But investors have shown that they are quick to adjust to changing market conditions, so the view that interest rates are now more firmly on an upward trend is likely to cause the rapid growth of buy-to-let investment to slow in the coming months.

"Fundamentally, however, the rental market remains sound and looks set to continue to offer good long-term prospects for astute investors."

The growth of buy-to-let investing has also seen an increased interest in insurance products such as landlord insurance and buy-to-let insurance.

18 Aug 2006