Knowledge Bank’s Criteria Activity Tracker for October suggests that property remains a popular investment option.
In terms of buy-to-let, two of the top three searches last month were for ‘first-time landlords’ and ‘first-time buyers’, so the appeal of rental property appears to be little diminished at least at the enquiry stage, even for those who have not yet got a first foot on the housing ladder.
The searches also reveal what is already starting to be seen as a trend where rental property is concerned.
While new buyers may still be interested in entering the mainstream buy-to-let market, there appears to be a growing shift in the make-up of the rental market.
The search for limited company buy-to-let moved up from third to second most searched for term in buy-to-let, while the top commercial lending search term was for commercial investment mortgages.
Lending to limited companies overseas was the top search in this category, all of which indicates that perhaps existing investors are looking to diversify their investment portfolio.
The research also revealed a growing demand for high loan-to-value (LTV) lending.
Maximum LTVs was in the top five of almost every one of the eight different lending types that Knowledge Bank enables brokers to search on.
Nicola Firth, CEO of Knowledge Bank, said: “What these searches do highlight is an interesting snapshot into what the actual demand is.”
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