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CML: Buy-to-let can't avoid the credit crunch
29 August 2008 11:30
Buy-to-let lending fell over the first half of this year but not as severely as lending as a whole did, according to new figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
The volume of buy-to-let mortgages granted fell by 15 per cent year-on-year to 144,600 in the first six months of 2008, which was also down by 18 per cent from the second half of 2007, compared to a 28 per cent decrease in total mortgage lending in this time.
Similarly, in value terms, buy-to-let lending dipped by 11 per cent year-on-year and by 22 per cent from the second half of last year to £18.6 billion in the first half of 2008, whereas the wider market experienced falls of 16 and 20 per cent respectively.
Also, while the share of buy-to-let mortgages in at least three months' arrears grew from 0.73 per cent in the last six months of 2007 to 1.1 per cent in the first six months of this year, this was again lower than the ratio of 1.33 per cent for all mortgages.
CML director general Michael Coogan noted that the shortage of available mortgages has affected landlords as it has all borrowers, but predicted that strong demand driven by the difficulties in buying a home at present would continue to sustain the rental market.
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