Competition has once again intensified in the buy to let mortgage market, as the Yorkshire Building Society has announced that they are relaxing their lending restrictions as well as expanding their deals across England and Wales. The Yorkshire entered the buy to let market last August and offered products through its lending subsidiary Accord Mortgages, but only made their products available in the South East and London.
A spokesman for the Yorkshire Building Society has said that those two area had been pilot areas and it was now looking to start lending right across England and Wales immediately, and that it has entered the buy to let market in steps. Other changes to their buy to let criteria include dropping the level of the minimum property value from £150,000 down to £100,000 and reducing the minimum income by £15,000 to £20,000.
It has also cut 5 years off the minimum age of applicants, which is now 30 and has lifted the current 40 miles distance between the property and the borrower. Many lenders have been expanding deals in the buy to let sector, due to the rental market seeing a boom at the same time as house prices have been generally remaining stagnant.
With more and more potential homebuyers being trapped in rental properties due to the strict lending criteria for mortgages, rental prices have gone through the roof. Recent statistics courtesy of LSL Property Services show that rental prices have increased by nearly £50 a month since 2008 due to the demand, and this is very appealing to those seeking buy to let mortgages.
Rightmove, the nationwide property website, have said that there are now almost three times as many buy to let mortgage products than there was only 2 years ago, and the market is further expanding due to these trapped renters. Lenders in general, however, are expected to tighten their ordinary criteria further in 2012 due to the eurozone crisis and the weak economy.
Related posts:
- Building society mortgage best buys The mortgage market in the UK is as uncertain as...
- Houses are just plain too expensive for today’s market It is not the volume of houses available that is...
- Scottish housing market improving slowly The Scottish housing market seems to be improving slowly as...
- London rental market growing rapidly The rental market in London is continuing to soar, according...
- More evidence of a static property market Since late 2010, there has not been much change in...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.