Buy-to-let product count hits 12 year high

There are currently 2,396 product on the market, a 21% increase on the 1,929 available in June last year.

Buy-to-let product count hits 12 year high

The number of buy-to-let mortgage products on the market has reached the highest level since the start of the global financial crisis in October 2007, Moneyfacts data has found.

There are currently 2,396 product on the market, a 21% increase on the 1,929 available in June last year.

Darren Cook of Moneyfacts.co.uk said: “The buy-to-let market has experienced a number of regulatory changes during recent years, however, it seems that product competition within this specialised mortgage area is continuing to grow.

“…providers are keen to offer potential buy-to-let investors plenty of choice within the sector.”

Buy-to-let rates have risen mildly in the last year, from an average of 3.43% in June 2018 to 3.54% this month.

Cook added: “The increase in the buy-to-let average rates contrasts with the downward trajectory of their residential mortgage counterparts, where product competition seems to have instead resulted in rates falling.

“This disparity in trends is likely to be attributed to the different approach lenders take to risk between these two sectors, and that economic uncertainty may be having a more adverse influence on the buy-to-let mortgage market than it is having on the residential mortgage market.”