Buy-to-let lending falls 15% following stamp duty holiday ending

Published 13th May 2010

The end of the stamp duty holiday in December 2009 meant that loans to buy-to-let investors were down 15% in the first three months of 2010, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders have shown.

There were 22,000 loans to buy to let investors in the first quarter of 2010, the CML said, and the total value is the loans also declined by 12% to £2.1bn.

However CML said that, leaving aside the impact of the stamp duty holiday, the figures showed that buy-to-let lending had now remained broadly flat over the last five quarters.

Compared to the first quarter of 2009 the value of buy-to-let lending is unchanged and the number of loans issued has fallen by 2%.

CML's director general Michael Coogan said: "Ignoring the effect of the stamp duty holiday, the lending figures show that the buy-to-let market has settled into a period of stable, low-volume activity.

“Generally, prospects for the rental market are good. But uncertainty over house prices, interest rates and the availability of mortgage funding is continuing to hold back the buy-to-let market at this stage.

"We also want to see how the new coalition government takes forward the Treasury's initiative to encourage higher investment in the private rented sector, bearing in mind the scope for growth that exists to meet future demand from tenants.

“There is a case for targeted measures in the budget, even though the primary focus will be the fiscal deficit."

Source: ' Property Week '

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