Majority of BTL-mortgage lenders pull fixed-rate products

Angus Stewart, Chief Executive of Property Master, the leading online broker for buy-to-let mortgages, has said today that landlords looking to take a fixed rate will need to wait until lenders launch new products.  They are unlikely to do this until the financial markets stabilise.  However, with base rate predicted to rise to 6% within the next year or so it is in a landlords’ interest to act sooner rather than later”

We have already seen the majority of our lenders pull their BTL mortgage products with more to come in the coming days.  The squeeze on private rental sector landlords continues from all angles, higher borrowing costs and recent increased regulation has created an unprecedented level of uncertainty. Even the latest tax cuts from the Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng mini budget on September 23rd , could be now reversed. The fear now is that we will see many landlords choosing to exit the market and thus resulting in a reduced supply of private rented property will add still further to the pressure on rents.”

Mr Stewart continued: “We are seeing buy-to-let mortgage products removed from the market at an unparalleled level. We have also seen some newer entrants to the BTL mortgage market withdraw their products as they have been unable to source their usual funds from institutional lenders.  This is extremely worrying for the sector.  We face reduced choice in the buy-to-let market which will in turn have a further impact on the rising cost of mortgages.”

“We advise landlords to secure fixed rate mortgages when they become available again given that the market expect further base rates in the coming months. We would recommend utilising online comparison tools like Property Master.  Our platform provides the very latest BTL mortgage deals and assesses these against lenders’ criteria and affordability checks.  We expect to see a continuing tightening of criteria given the concerns about the market and economic conditions.”