11
May
Buy-to-let market retains demand
Landlords and would-be investors have shown "quite a strong demand"
for buy-to-let mortgages, it has been suggested.
Property Hawk editor Chris Horne said there is still interest in
the property investment market despite the economic downturn.
Evidence published by the Association of Residential Letting Agents
in March showed more landlords were looking to buy properties at
the start of 2009 than they were at the end of last year.
However, Mr Horne indicated that landlords are being constrained by
lenders who do not want to make the relevant finance
available.
Some firms see buy-to-let as a high-risk market, he explained, and
as a result are not as keen to lend as they may have been in the
past.
"Unfortunately, we are in a situation where the market is
reconsolidating itself," the expert stated. "After the boom years
there were very generous terms for buy-to-let mortgages and all
forms of lending."
Companies were offering "uncompetitive or unrealistic margins on
their lending", which is not the case across the board in the
current climate, he added.
