Buy to let sales up by 54%

Latest research from Equifax Touchstone reveals that buy to let sales have risen by 54.1%, when compared to the corresponding month last year, reaching £3.31bn.

Looking at year to date buy to let sales from January through to August 2015, there has been an increase of 30.4% when compared to the same period in 2014, with sales hitting £25.62bn.

A number of factors have contributed to this rise, such as the current low interest environment and enticing deals from lenders. Continued economic recovery in the UK has similarly attracted buy to let investors to the market and an increase in private rental rates of more than 10% since the start of the year has further contributed to the growth.

Equifax Touchstone’s research also shows, however, that despite figures increasing year on year, August buy to let sales are down 12.5% from the £3.77bn reported in the previous month. This drop is thought to reflect the holiday slowdown. Nevertheless, when compared with the 20.8% drop in sales in the corresponding period last year, the figures point to a much stronger buy to let market this year.

The latest data, which covers 92% of the intermediated lending market, also reveals that compared to 2014, residential sales from January to August are up 14.8%.

Total sales for the eight month period, including buy to let sales growth, have risen by 18% year on year. The average value of a residential mortgage in August was £183,337 (August 2014: £170,371) and £158,782 for buy to let (August 2014: £143,546).

Iain Hill, relationship manager at Equifax Touchstone, said: "We have seen promising signs of growth in the buy-to-let lending market in the past year as demand continues to rise and this has been further consolidated by last month's figures. We expect this upward trend to continue in the coming months.

"Despite a fall in sales in August, which was slightly more than expected given the robust nature of the market so far this year, it's promising to see sustained year-on-year growth.

"The current favourable market conditions, supported by low interest rates and the greater capacity for lenders to offer mortgages, have encouraged borrowers to enter the market."