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Former chancellor George Osborne’s actions to stem the growth of Buy to Let activity seems to have worked, according to figures from industry body, UK Finance.
First Time Buyers
In August 2018, 2% more mortgages were completed than a year ago, 35,500 in total. According to their report, the average buyer is 30 with a gross household income of £42,000. This is the highest since June 2017.
Buy to Let
New Buy to Let mortgages were down to 6000, 13% less than the year before, moneywise down to £0.8 billion, a fall of 20%. On a more positive note for those looking to rent; Buy to let remortgages were 4.5% up, indicating that landlords are not selling up. Less positive for renters comes from a survey by Property Partner which finds nearly 40% of landlords intend to raise rent to meet their higher costs.
Mixed Picture
For those with a deposit in a position to buy, the market is looking more positive. Less competition from buy to let landlords being one reason for depressed market prices.
For those where renting is the only option, things don’t look so good. Less homes available to rent and higher landlord costs risk driving rents higher. Today we are highly dependent on the private rented sector, if this breaks and public housing fails to fill the gap, life for renters won’t get any easier.
