Published: 07/09/2020 By Donna Cowan
What does the property market have in store?A temporary move to abolish stamp duty on properties up to £500,000 has had a positive impact on the Colchester’s recovering housing market.
The government has temporarily increased the stamp duty threshold to £500,000 for property sales in England and Northern Ireland, until 31 March 2021. The market has experienced a surge in house prices at their fastest rate in 16 years last month to an all-time high as the stamp duty holiday brought about a rush of buyers. But Andrew Montlake, managing director at mortgage broker Coreco, warned: “In the final months of the year we will start to see a reversal in the current rate of house price growth, as the true impact of Covid-19 on the economy shows through.”
However, the outlook for buy-to-let landlords seeking mortgages is improving. Investors are now being encouraged to reassess their portfolios sooner rather than later. The UK buy-to-let market is showing signs of recovery as new data reveals positive growth in the mortgage sector. The amount of choice available to buy-to-let landlords looking to borrow to invest is now almost back to pre-coronavirus levels.
Interest rates on a selection of higher loan-to-value (LTV) products have also gone down. This follows many lenders restricting their higher LTV products for a number of weeks at the start of the outbreak. Now, new data published by Moneyfacts shows a more risk-tolerant view emerging from the mortgage market. According to Moneyfacts, Rightmove’s survey looking at the UK rental market provided a further boost for the sector. It showed that tenant demand for rental properties had grown by 33% in May 2020 compared to 2019. The recent rise in buy-to-let product choice will be welcome to landlords looking to meet this demand.
Investors who choose to remortgage or make further investments should seek independent advice. At Greenwood Property Consultants we can put you in touch with an independent financial adviser who will be able to advise on options relating to individual criteria and needs.