Most mortgage advisers have seen an uplift in buy-to-let sales in the past three months and are expecting business to increase in the second half of the year, according to Natwest Intermediary Solutions.
Research conducted amongst over 500 mortgage intermediaries found that an overwhelming majority predict a jump in remortgage activity as a base rate rise appears to edge closer.
For the second quarter, 60 per cent of brokers said that they had seen an increase in customer demand for buy-to-let mortgages with a third saying that demand had remained stable, while only 7 per cent had experienced a drop in demand.
A majority also predict demand continuing to rise: 58 per cent expect to increase their business in this sector, while 39 per cent thought it would remain the same and only 4 per cent forecast a decrease.
Remortgages was another area of the market where optimism reigns, with 82 per cent of brokers believing that the speculation about a rise in the Bank of England base rate will generate more remortgage enquires from customers.
Graham Felstead, head of Natwest Intermediary Solutions, said that this year has definitely seen a resurgence in the buy-to-let market.
“Looking at the latest CML statistics, more than 24,000 buy-to-let purchase mortgage deals were completed in Q2 2014 which is more than double the amount in Q1 2010 when the market hit its nadir.
“Since we enhanced our rental cover calculation and simplified our criteria, we have been delighted with the increase in intermediary-introduced buy-to-let business we have received.
“Looking ahead, the remortgage market is obviously one where most people expect to see an increase in demand from customers over the coming months as the inevitability of a base rate rise comes closer.
“We are well placed to help brokers and their customers with a great range of remortgage deals offering free legal and valuation fees, up to 90% loan-to-value on debt consolidation and being able to accept unencumbered properties.”
