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New figures from estate agents Hamptons suggest weaknesses are emerging in the buyto- let sector. The figures show a sharp fall in the sector’s share of purchase mortgages. In November purchases by landlords accounted for 18.4% of Hamptons’ mortgage sales, compared with 43.8% in October. Also, in November, buy-to-let remortgages arranged by the firm increased by 6.2%, indicating that landlords are refinancing existing properties rather than buying new ones.
Jonathan Cornell, managing director of Hamptons Mortgages says, “It appears that some buy-to-let landlords have had their confidence dented as a result of the recent credit crisis. Amateur landlords will have suffered the most and many may have held off from purchasing new properties – presumably in the hope that the market will begin to calm.” The activities of landlords have helped to fuel house price inflation in the past few years and as house prices stagnate (or even fall), and credit conditions tighten, some analysts are fearful of a mass sell-off by landlords. |
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