And, a huge percentage is forecasting a jump in remortgage activity as a base rate rise appears to edge closer.
For Q2, 6 in 10 (60%) of brokers said that they had seen an increase in customer demand for buy-to-let mortgages with a third (33%) saying that demand had remained stable. Less than 1 in 10 (7%) had experienced a drop in demand.
And when it came to looking forward to the rest of 2014, the outlook remained positive with nearly 6 in 10 (58%) expecting to increase their business in this sector. 4 in 10 (39%) thought it would remain the same with only 4% forecasting a decrease.
Remortgages is another area of the market where optimism reigns. 4 out of 5 (82%) of brokers believe that the speculation about a rise in the Bank of England base rate will generate more remortgage enquires from customers.
And there was a sobering view on the so-called dangerous house price bubble that some commentators have been writing and talking about. Over half of brokers (56%) disagreed with this sentiment, with only around a third (34%) supporting it.
Graham Felstead, Head of NatWest Intermediary Solutions said:
“2014 has definitely seen a resurgence in the buy-to-let market. Looking at the latest CML statistics, more than 24,000 buy-to-let purchase mortgage deals were completed in Q2 2014 which is more than double the amount in Q1 2010 when the market hit its nadir. And, in terms of value, the last quarter’s gross advances of £6,300m was the highest it’s been for six years. Since we enhanced our rental cover calculation and simplified our criteria, we have been delighted with the increase in intermediary-introduced buy-to-let business we have received.
“Looking ahead, the remortgage market is obviously one where most people expect to see an increase in demand from customers over the coming months as the inevitability of a base rate rise comes closer. We are well placed to help brokers and their customers with a great range of remortgage deals offering free legal and valuation fees, up to 90% LTV on debt consolidation and being able to accept unencumbered properties.”
