The number of buy-to-let mortgage products currently available is at a post-financial crisis high, according to Moneyfacts.

The financial information provider said that landlords now have the choice of 2,162 buy-to-let mortgages, meaning the number of products has not been higher since October 2007, when 3,305 products were available.

Just two years ago there were only 1,456 products for landlords to choose from.

Darren Cook, finance expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: “It is encouraging that buy-to-let landlords have more mortgage choice than they have had at any time in almost 12 years. Total product numbers have increased by 397 over the past year and by 706 over the past two years to stand at 2,162 products today.

“Despite ongoing uncertainty in the property market, providers are not shying away from offering landlords a greater choice of products.”

Rates rising

However, average buy-to-let mortgage rates have increased. Two-year fixes for landlords are now 3.12% compared to 2.96% two years ago.

Five-year fixed products are slightly down over two years, from 3.77% to 3.61%, but in the last year they have started to creep up from 3.43% in March 2018.

Cook added: “Heightened competition to try and attract buy-to-let business has not resulted in a fall in interest rates, as has recently happened in the residential mortgage sector.

“As there appears to have been no sustained increases in interest SWAP rates since September 2018, a strong argument can be made that the recent increases to buy-to-let mortgages interest rates have been a result of BTL mortgage providers attributing a little more to risk into their product rates due to uncertainty over future economic conditions.”