The number of 5-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage products available to borrowers has more than doubled since 2012, according to research from specialist broker Mortgages for Business.
In the second quarter of this year there were an average of 128 5-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage products available, compared to just 50 in 2012.
David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business, said: “We’ve been recommending 5-year fixed rates for some time now and even the FCA has expressed a preference in this regard.
“Recent feedback from our landlord customers identified that 34 per cent would currently choose 5-year fixed rates not only because they are competitively priced but also to protect themselves against pending rate rises.”
The research found that the increase in longer term products has been at the expense of 1-year rates, which have really fallen out of favour with the market as a whole.
In 2010 1-year products accounted for 18 per cent of the market, but by Q2 2014 this figure had dropped to just 1 per cent and Mortgages for Business suggested they may disappear altogether at some point in the not too distant future.
Over the quarter, two and three year swap rates moved 0.2 per cent higher, 5-year rates increased by 0.1 per cent and 10-year rates scarcely moved.
