The value of these loans totalled £1.9bn, which was a decrease of 10% compared to November.
Similarly, buy-to-let loans for house purchase followed the same trend down 10% in December to 7,280 loans in total compared to November. The loans totalled £840m in value, which again was down 10% compared to November.
In parallel to this, buy-to-let remortgage lending decreased in December to 7,060 loans, which was down 10% compared to November. These buy-to-let remortgages had a total value of £1.0bn, a decrease of 9% compared to November 2013.
Despite the seasonal dip, gross buy-to-let lending in the fourth quarter of 2013 was up 6% on the third quarter 2013 and an increase of 33% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, totalling 46,700 loans. The total value of these loans was £6.1bn, again up 7% compared to the third quarter of 2013 and up 39% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012.
Buy-to-let loans for house purchase also showed growth with an increase of 4% compared to the third quarter 2013 and up 26% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012 resulting in a total of 23,640 loans. The total value of these loans was £2.7bn, up 5% compared to the third quarter of 2013 and up 34% compared to the fourth quarter last year.
Buy-to-let remortgage lending also increased in the fourth quarter 2013 to 22,680 loans, up 9% compared to the third quarter 2013 and up 42% compared to the fourth quarter last year. The total value of these loans was £3.2bn, up 9% compared to the third quarter 2013 and up 53% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012.
Following on from the strong year-on-year growth in December and the fourth quarter, overall for 2013 buy-to-let gross lending totalled 160,900 loans, which was up 23% compared to 2012. These loans totalled in value £20.7bn, which was an increase of 32% compared to 2012.
Similar to gross lending, total buy-to-let lending for house purchase was 82,930 loans, an increase of 19% compared to 2012. The total value of these loans was £9.3bn, a 26% increase compared to 2012.
Buy-to-let remortgage lending showed the highest proportional buy-to-let growth, an increase of 29% compared to 2012 bringing the total to 76,260 loans. The loans valued at £10.6bn in total, an increase of 39% compared to 2012.
George Spencer, CEO of Rentify, the UK’s fastest-growing lettings agency, says:
"Buy-to-let lending has ended 2013 on a high, with the last quarter up 20% compared with the last quarter in 2012, however, the number of buy-to-let loans decreased by 10% from November to December.
"We are seeing a buy-to-let market undergoing a seasonal, market adjustment after strong upwards momentum. This slight falter shows the buy-to-let sector is not running away with itself as landlords get to grips with the new regulatory environment, with the advent of Universal Credit and the prospect of more stringent, immigration status-checking.
"Traditionally, the ambition of people in the UK is to become a homeowner, but we are starting to see a change. As the ‘norms’ of the economy and society have undergone a seismic shift, so the ‘norms’ of homeownership are changing. As more people move to the UK from Europe, renting becomes more natural. After all the majority rent in many countries on the continent.
"It is encouraging the buy-to-let mortgage market continues to improve, with Mortgage Trust, part of Paragon, returning to the 80 per cent LTV space this week, with fixed rate and tracker buy-to-let products."
