Brokers enjoy boom year for buy-to-let

Brokers have enjoyed boom year in the buy-to-let market with intermediary mortgage sales surging more than 30% to nearly £30 billion.

That overshadows healthy growth of 16% in residential mortgage sales through brokers, although the total market is bigger at £97.4 billion.

Overall broker mortgage sales from January to September rose 19.2% on the same period last year, according to new analysis of the intermediary marketplace by Equifax Touchstone.

This added up to a total increase of £20.38 billion.

Sales increased by 8.7% in September, reaching £15.25 billion.

This was a slower post-summer bounce back than last year when overall mortgage sales rose by 13% between August and September.

The highest growth region for residential and buy-to-let sales in percentage terms was the North West, where sales were up by 13.28%.

The data from Equifax Touchstone, which covers 92% of the intermediated lending market, shows that the average value of a residential mortgage in September was £184,900, up 8.7% from £170,131 in the same month last year.

The average buy-to-let mortgage was £157,658, up 8.8% from £144,797.

Iain Hill, relationship manager, Equifax Touchstone, says: “The somewhat disappointing figures reported last month may just be a slight setback ahead of a strong end to the year.”

Hill expected the market to recover and continue to follow an upward trend in the last quarter of 2015, with regions such as London and the South of England leading the way.