UK property market shows shifts in buy-to-let and lending trends

Recent data highlights shifting trends across the UK property and lending sectors. In the buy-to-let market, company ownership has become a dominant model for larger investors. According to Lendlord, 45.1% of buy-to-let properties are now owned through companies, a figure that rises to 57.6% for landlords managing 20 or more properties.

In the bridging loan sector, MT Finance reported a 15% decline in lending during Q2, falling to £173.1m. Despite this dip, there was an increase in the use of regulated bridging loans to prevent property chain breaks and a rise in second charge bridging loans, which reached 22% of transactions. Meanwhile, Brickflow analysis suggests that property developers and investors risk losing over £1m in leverage per deal by failing to compare lenders, citing significant gaps in loan offers for bridging and development finance.

Later life lending also saw notable movement, with UK Finance reporting that lending to borrowers aged 55 and over surged by more than 20% year-on-year to £6.2bn in Q2. This includes 37,300 new loans, though officials noted that year-on-year comparisons are influenced by previous stamp duty deadlines.