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Property
investors took out
loans worth £7.7
billion in the first
half of this year,
one billion more
than in the second
half of 2002 ...
Figures
from the Council
of Mortgage Lenders
(CML) reveal that
75,100 mortgages
were taken out in
the first half of
this year, accounting
for 6.4% of gross
lending.
This
compares with 71,300
loans worth £6.7
billion advanced
in the second half
of 2002, which amounted
to a 5.5% share
of gross lending.
The
continuing growth
of buy-to-let means
that there are now
334,800 mortgages
outstanding in the
sector, worth £31
billion or 4.3%
of the mortgage
market overall.
Market
Secure
The average value
of a buy-to-let
loan increased from
£94,000 to
£102,500 in
the last six months.
Remortgaging in
the sector was also
buoyant, accounting
for 39% of gross
advances in the
latest period.
Lenders
have maintained
an average maximum
loan-to-value ratio
of 80% for two years
and the proportion
of the mortgage
payment that lenders
require the rent
to cover has remained
unchanged at 130%
since the CML began
collecting data
in 1998.
There
has, however, been
a small increase
(from 0.42% to 0.45%)
in the number of
buy-to-let mortgages
more than three
months in arrears,
but this proportion
is less than half
the figure for the
mortgage market
as a whole.
Commenting
on the latest figures,
the CML's Director
General Michael
Coogan said:
"Although
there has been a
recent improvement
in stock market
performance, it
is not surprising
that many people
still see property
as a safer haven.
"But
spreading risk is
also important,
and it is rarely
good advice to put
all your eggs in
one basket - even
if it has all the
traditionally solid
qualities of bricks
and mortar."
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