View all articles
Figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that buy to let lending soared in the UK during the last quarter of 2014. More than £7.7 billion was lent to landlords between October and December 2014, which is 32% more than the same period of 2013.
******Whoops! Looks like this is an old post that isn’t relevant any more :/ ******
******Visit the blog home page for the most up to date news. ******
First Time Buyers Struggling
Although landlords are certainly benefiting from the growth in buy to let lending, first time buyers are not doing quite so well. Lending from banks and building societies to first time buyers is 2% lower than the third quarter of 2014. However, lending to first time buyers is up on 2013, which is good news. The number of loans handed out to first time buyers increased by 15% compared to 2013. This is partly as a result of the government’s Help to Buy scheme.
Property Market Prices Slowdown
The property market is very much in recovery after the recession, but data from the Office of National Statistics reveals that price increases are beginning to slow down again. Prices by 12.1% in September 2014, but by December, the rise was only 0.7%. The average UK house price is now £272,000.
“Another rise in house prices is yet another blow to the millions of people across the country with barely a hope of getting on the housing ladder, no matter how hard they work or save,” says Shelter chief executive, Campbell Robb.
