There were 17,700 buy-to-let loans in November, representing lending of £2.4bn. This was a decrease on the previous month with loan volumes down 10% and the value of these loans down 11%.
Within the overall total of buy-to-let loans in November, 8,900 were advanced for house purchase and 8,600 for remortgage. The number of buy-to-let house purchase loans decreased by 12% compared to October but up 6% compared to November last year. This totalled £1.1bn in value, down 8% on October but up 10% on November last year.
The number of remortgage loans decreased in November, down 8% on October but up 12% compared to November last year. These loans had a total value of £1.3bn, down 7% on October but up 18% on November last year.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, commented:
“The easing back of activity is not completely unexpected as there is usually a seasonal lending dip in the winter months and the major industry changes and more restrained market sentiment have inevitably caused month-to-month fluctuations over the last twelve months. Our forecasts are for gross lending to continue to grow over the next two years and this reflects our belief that there are more stable conditions in the market than a year ago.
