Speaking at the Manchester Mortgage Business Expo, Steve Simpson, national sales manager at The Business Mortgage Company (TBMC), said: “The buy-to-let market has grown considerably over the past four years, with mortgage applications reaching £74 billion in 2005. 60 per cent of this was conducted through mortgage intermediaries, compared to 20 per cent in 2000.”
However, Simpson admitted the market would undergo further changes, with peaks and troughs in the type of people renting, as a result of government plans and general lifestyle choices.
“There is certainly going to be a drop in the number of student tenants over the next 12 months as a result of an increase in how much students now have to pay. Rather than renting, some have admitted they will commute from home. However there is an increase in local authorities looking for properties that can be rented out, which gives buy-to-let investors an ideal opportunity,” he continued.
Simpson added local authorities, building and development companies and landlord clubs represented a good opportunity for intermediaries to enter into the growing buy-to-let market, and added that an increasing number of property investors were looking at off-plan opportunities.
Andrew Moss, business development manager at Mortgage Express, hoped the fall in students renting would be allayed by growths in other sectors within the buy-to-let market. He said: “Student fees have increased over the past few years without having too much of an impact on the market. I would hope the market could absorb any losses as a result of less students renting.”
