Brokers Confident in the Buy-to-Let Market
Confidence in the buy-to-let and new build markets is high among brokers, revealed NatWest Intermediary Solutions.
Research from the lender of 500 mortgage intermediaries found that 58% had experienced a rise in buy-to-let business in the past three months. Just one in 20 had seen a decrease and more than a quarter (27%)
Brokers Confident in the Buy-to-Let Market
said that it had stayed the same.
Regarding the next six months, over half (54%) believe that the market will grow more than in the last six months and only 4% expect to do less business. A third (32%) predict stable buy-to-let business.
Over half (57%) of brokers are optimistic about the new build sector this year. About a quarter (25%) are pessimistic and one in six (17%) are unsure.
Of those that have seen a new build development in their area recently, most (57%) think that they will see more business this year than last year. A fifth (21%) are not sure and 16% expect to do less.
A third (32%) of all brokers said that there weren’t any new build developments in their area.
Head of NatWest Intermediary Solutions, Graham Felstead, says: “The buy-to-let and new build sectors have both been touted as growth areas for 2015, and this sentiment has been echoed by the optimism shown by brokers in our survey.
“We have an appetite to grow our presence in both of these areas of the mortgage market and have recently refreshed our new build proposition to offer a more attractive approach to builder’s incentives.
“The buy-to-let market is one where we have made great strides in the last couple of years. We have focused specifically on non-professional landlords with small portfolios – an area of the market where there has been significant growth and one that is expected to continue to be buoyant as more people turn to property as a viable investment alternative to traditional pension arrangements.”1