New data from mortgage lending trade body UK Finance shows that in Q4 2024 there were 52,648 new buy-to-let loans advanced in the UK, worth £9.6 billion.
This was up 39.2 per cent by number (47.2 per cent by value) compared with the same quarter in the previous year.
The average gross buy-to-let rental yield for the UK in Q4 2024 was 7 per cent, compared with 6.74 per cent in the same quarter in the previous year.
The average interest rate across all new buy-to-let loans in the UK was 5.09 per cent in Q4 2024. This was 0.13 basis points lower than in the previous quarter, and 0.61 basis points lower than in the same quarter of 2023.
Reflecting the downwards movement in interest rates, the average buy-to-let interest cover ratio (ICR) for the UK in Q4 2024 was 201 per cent, up from 190 per cent in Q1 2024 and 21 basis points higher than a year previously.
The number of buy to let fixed rate mortgages outstanding in Q4 2024 was 1.43 million, 4.4 per cent up on a year previously. In contrast, the number of variable rate loans outstanding fell by 15.9 per cent to 518,000.
At the end of Q4 2024 there were 12,610 buy-to-let mortgages in arrears greater than 2.5 per cent of the outstanding balance. This was down 390 from the previous quarter and 7 per cent lower than in the same quarter a year previously.
There were 700 buy-to-let mortgage possessions taken in Q4 2024. This is unchanged from the previous quarter, but an increase of 29.6 per cent on the same quarter a year previously.