Landlords have over taken first time buyers in terms of the amount that is being lent out for mortgages, showing the lay of the land within the housing market.
Young people are suffering, unable to get together a deposit to get themselves onto the property ladder, which is constantly moving further out of their reach.
One of the major contenders against them in the market are people purchasing through buy to let mortgages, and then renting those properties out.
Buy to let mortgage lending has risen by 42 per cent year-on-year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The raise meant that buy to let purchasers borrowed £3.7 billion over the last year.
In comparison, first time buyer lending rose by a reported 14 per cent, a paltry rise compared to the landlords buying up properties. First time buyers borrowed £3.3 billion over the same time frame.
This is the first time that landlords have out-bought first time buyers for a very long time, and indicates the dire circumstances that is leading to millions of young people becoming caught in the ‘renting trap’.
It is thought that the rise in landlords buying may be because of the raise to Stamp Duty Land Tax which comes into effect in April: a 3 per cent rise for anyone who is buying a second property.
First time buyers have been struggling ever since the financial crash, and although some schemes like the Help to Buy schemes and Help to Buy ISA are indeed helping people out, they are not doing enough to alter the market for good.
