Buy-to-let lending totalled £3.7 billion in the first quarter of 2012
New buy-to-let lending in the first quarter of this year totalled £3.7 billion (32,300 loans), according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This was 5% down on the fourth quarter of 2011 and 32% higher than in the first quarter of 2011, but still only around a third of its 2007 levels.
The average maximum loan-to-value available from lenders on buy-to-let mortgages remained at 75% in the first quarter of the year, with the average minimum rental cover 125% - up from 123% in the previous quarter, but otherwise the same as for nearly three years.
The repossession rate was 0.12% - virtually the same as for the last five quarters - compared with 0.08% in the owner-occupied sector.
May 11, 2012