Lenders flocking back to buy-to-let

When the credit crunch hit, many took great pleasure from the fact that the ‘get rich quick’ property investors and the ‘evil’ buy-to-let landlords  were suffering. However, that particular form of schadenfreude ignored the vitally important role that the private rented sector plays, particularly with property prices making it rather difficult for many to buy their own home.

However, the buy-to-let market has shown encouraging signs of recovery of late, and last week saw an old lender return to the fray.

Return of the Skipton

Skipton Building Society has returned to the buy-to-let market, having taken a step back from the market since 2009. And the reason for its return? The ‘burgeoning demand’ from landlords for finance.

The mutual has launched initially with two mortgages, a two and three-year fixed rate deal. And while the lender requires a large deposit – in both cases, 40% - the rates are at least competitive, particularly on the two-year deal which boasts an interest rate of 4.49%. The three-year fixed rate has an interest rate of 5.49%.

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What’s more, the product fee is ‘only’ £1,495. Now I know that’s a lot for most of us, but as the tables below demonstrate, with buy-to-let mortgages the fees are often astonishingly high.

Not alone

What’s more, Skipton is not alone in spotting an opportunity for lending in the buy-to-let market. 2010 saw the return of two of the most important buy-to-let lenders before the credit crunch, in Paragon Mortgages and Kensington, as well as new players like Precise Mortgages.

And a number of other lenders have now stated their intention to enter the market in the coming months. Santander and Yorkshire Building Society have already made clear their intention to launch products for landlords in 2011, while the newly-launched Metro Bank has also pinpointed the sector as one it wants to be involved with.

Burgeoning demand

So what is this ‘burgeoning demand’ that is prompting so many lenders to want a piece of the buy-to-let pie?

Some research by a part of Skipton’s estate agent subsidiary, Connells, provides a clue. According to Sequence Lettings, the Northern and Central regions of the nation have caught up with the South as ‘hotbeds’ of rental demand.

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It’s no surprise that the rental market is booming in the South – traditionally, houses cost more to buy in the South so many people have little option but to rent. However, demand to rent in the rest of the country is also rocketing. Sequence reported that the number of people looking to rent in the Northern region has increased by 22%, while in the Eastern and Central region it has jumped by a whopping 31%.

It’s not just Sequence that has seen this massive growth in rental demand – according to the Government’s own figures, the number of tenants has grown by an incredible one million people since 2005-06, to the point that one in six households now rent privately. And where there is such demand, there’s the opportunity to make some money.

Expanding portfolios

In truth, these massive levels of demand are not really new – demand has far outstripped supply for some time. However, one thing has been holding back landlords from expanding their portfolios, and addressing that demand – money.

When the credit crunch hit, buy to let was one area many lenders were quick to ditch, viewing it as too high risk. As a result, only a handful of lenders were willing to lend, leaving landlords with little choice, and a range of uncompetitive deals to pick from. That’s why, when Paragon Mortgages surveyed landlords in Q1, just 19% reported finance as being either widely or reasonably available. And that’s even with the return of old lenders and new ones taking their first steps into buy to let.

The private rental sector has a hugely important role to play in the UK housing market in the coming years, so it’s important that landlord finance becomes more widely available. Hopefully those other lenders looking to enter the market do so soon, and with truly competitive deals.

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