Buy-to-let mortgage arrears falling across the UK, data shows
07-29-2016
News Category: Industry News
A growing level of confidence among landlords in the UK's PRS means the level of buy-to-let mortgage arrears nationwide has fallen in recent months, according to new reports. And with landlord confidence set to remain high for some time thanks to market conditions, this is a reality that can only improve moving forward.
According to new data published this week by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the number of instances of mortgages for buy-to-let owners being in arrears now sits at some 9,300, down markedly from the 10,300 that was recorded three months before, and from more than 11,000 at this time last year.
The CML said that this figure is only going to improve as mortgage conditions remain as strong as they are at the moment, and the level of demand for properties in the buy-to-let market stays high, meaning landlords are able to afford their repayments and keep up with their mortgages.
By the end of this year, in fact, the CML predicts that the instances of arrears in the buy-to-let sector will fall as low as 7,000, adding that there is no indication that the decision made by British voters to leave the EU has had a negative effect on the financial situation in the buy-to-let market.
"The referendum result was unexpected, the precise impact is unknown, and it is still rather early to tell what will happen. But we have seen no let-up in demand for buy to let mortgages and we don’t expect to see any change in the downward trend in buy to let arrears as a result. Landlords are confident and lenders have no reason to feel any differently," said David Whittaker, managing director of Keystone Property Finance.
He also predicted that not only will landlords be continuing to spend on property in the coming months, but they will also be doing so in places that we've not seen before, especially as mortgage companies start to offer an increasing number of attractive products for things like multi-unit blocks.