The buy to let market is doing well in the UK and many experts are referring to it as a rental boom.  According to data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) there are 1.42 million buy to let mortgages.  These buy to let mortgages outnumber the 89,000 that existed one decade ago and amount to an all-time value level of more than £160billion.

The inability of many young families and young adults to obtain an approval for a property purchase or meet the demands of a high deposit requirement are forcing an ever large number of people to rent rather than buy.  There is in fact a generation of non-homeowners expected by most experts as there is expectation that some may never escape the rental market. 

The market is set for landlords to enter the buy to let market and get a good return on their investment.  The need for landlords is high as demand is pushing beyond the supply of rental properties available.  The average rental fee has increased by 4.3% in the last year.

The demand for buy to let mortgages and especially remortgages continues to remain steady while other demands in mortgage lending rise and fall.  Lenders are important to the supply of adequate rental properties for it is their offers on the market that make new landlords able to enter the market or existing landlords to add to their portfolio.  According to the CML data there were 33,200 buy to let loans approved between April and June which marks a 14% increase when compared to the same time period last year.

Mark Harris, chief executive of the mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, remarked, “It is no surprise that the buy-to-let sector continues with its strong performance.

“As would-be first-time buyers continue to struggle to get on the housing ladder, more people are turning to renting.

“This is pushing up rents, making the sector increasingly attractive to investors.”