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Buy to Let

The number of mortgages for landlords hits 12-year high

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Posted:
10/06/2019
Updated:
10/06/2019

Buy-to-let product numbers have soared in recent years while rates have ticked up

Landlords have their pick of mortgage deals right now, according to Moneyfacts, which found that the number of buy-to-let products available is currently 2,396.

That’s the highest on record since the beginning of the financial crisis in October 2007, when the total number of available products stood at 3,305.

The financial information provider noted that, since June 2018, the total number of available products for landlords has jumped by 21%, and in the past month alone it has risen by 143 mortgage deals, from 2,253 to 2,396.

Rates creeping up

Average buy-to-let mortgage rates have risen slightly over the past 12 months, with the average two-year fixed rate mortgage increasing by 0.17% from 2.88% in June 2018 to 3.05% this month, while the average five-year fixed rate has risen by 0.11%.

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However, the cost of landlord mortgages is still significantly lower than it was in October 2007, when the average two-year fixed rate stood at 6.36% while five-year deals were 6.39%.

Darren Cook, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said: “A 21% increase in availability to 2,396 products over the past 12 months indicates that providers are keen to offer potential buy-to-let investors plenty of choice within the sector.

“Despite this increasing competition in terms of the total number of products available over the past year, average rates have unfortunately not fallen, with the average two-year fixed rate increasing by 0.17% to 3.05% and the average five-year fixed rate increasing by 0.11% to 3.54% over the same period.”