The buy-to-let market continued its strong performance in November – as sales were up by 42.8% or £1bn year-on-year, Equifax Touchstone research has found.
It was a similar story in the residential space, where sales were up by 26.9% to the value of £2.2bn.
Overall mortgage sales fell by 8.4% between October and November, but in the same period last year they dropped by a more significant 16%.
The 8.4% drop came as a surprise to Iain Hill, relationship manager at Equifax Touchstone, who only anticipated a small downturn after record months were recorded in June and July.
He said: “Despite the softening market demand we need to remind ourselves that 2015 has been a very good year, with the market significantly ahead of 2014.
“Looking forward, there has been much speculation about where the market will go in 2016, and the current volatility does not make planning any easier.”
The average value of a residential mortgage in November was £186,166 (November 2014: £173,070) and £162,065 for buy-to-let (November 2014: £146,810).