Property Master: Buy-to-let rates drop

5-year fixes experienced the biggest fall in monthly cost.

Property Master: Buy-to-let rates drop

Fierce competition amongst buy-to-let lenders continues to fuel falling mortgage interest rates, research by online broker Property Master has revealed.

In its November 2019 Mortgage Tracker recorded rate reductions across almost all categories tracked.

The biggest fall in monthly cost was for 5-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage offers for 75% LTV.

The monthly cost of a typical £150,000 mortgage dropped by £8 per month from October to November.

Angus Stewart, chief executive of Property Master, said: “It will certainly be good news for landlords to see from our figures that monthly mortgage costs fell again, this time in five out of the six categories we track in our research.

“However where costs have fallen, we did not see the double-digit reductions in monthly cost we have often seen in recent months.

“The falls this time around are much more modest which is leading us to think that without any rate reduction from the Bank of England, mortgage lenders may well be approaching the floor in terms of how low they can go.”

The 5-year fixed rates for 65% LTV fell monthly by £6, whilst 5-year fixed rates at 50% LTV rates decreased by just £4.

For 2-year fixed rates, buy-to-let mortgage offers for 75% LTV were down by £4 per month.

However, average interest rates for 2-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgages at 50% LTV were up by £2.

Stewart added: “Interestingly, in addition to rate cuts we are also seeing a slew of other mortgage criteria changes lenders are making to their product portfolios in an effort to attract landlord customers.

“We have seen lenders loosening their stress tests; increasing the maximum length of borrowing terms; reducing their interest cover ratios; and taking into account income other than that from rents.

“It does appear to be a buyers’ market in terms of current buy-to-let mortgage deals meaning it pays to shop around and for landlords to make sure they are getting access to any and all deals that fit with their property financing needs.”