Buy-to-let activity surged in August despite fears the sector would slow down, Connells Survey and Valuation research has revealed.
Buy-to-let valuations increased by 12.7% in August compared to the month before, as Connells concluded “an immediate and detrimental impact on consumer confidence post Brexit has not materialised as predicted”.
However activity was still 19.7% lower than August last year.
John Bagshaw, corporate services director of Connells Survey & Valuation, said: “Now the effects of the government’s legislation have been digested by lenders and investors alike, buy-to-let activity has increased sharply.
“The market’s fears over the impact of Brexit are calming, too and the Bank of England’s decision to cut the base rate last month for the first time in seven years may also have a psychological impact on property investors.
“Encouraging economic data, high levels of employment and fading fears of a recession have also injected life into the sector.
“While we can still see the impact of last government’s damaging set of changes to legislation in the year on year numbers, August’s surge in activity highlights the resilience of the buy-to-let sector.”
In terms of other sectors first-time buyers saw activity increase by 6.8% from July and 19.6% year-on-year, while the remortgage sector saw a 4.2% and 1.5% increase in valuations on a monthly and annual basis.
Bagshaw added: “First-time buyers have enjoyed a month of growth and the sector is continuing to thrive following a strong July – given first time buyers are the engine of the property market, this is very significant.
“August has also seen a surge in activity in the remortgaging sector, partially fueled by the interest rate.”
