The UK housing market has seen one sector in particular take off within the last six months. That sector is remortgage and the reasons could not be clearer. Interest rates are low, lenders are competing for the next wave of clients for the year 2017, and housing in general is in short supply creating quite a challenge for anyone looking to move home. Another sector is not far behind however. Buy to let property is seeing quite a bit of activity as well.

Bank of England data indicates remortgage and buy to let is currently on fire and that should continue for the short term. A whisper of a possible rise in interest rates is only that so far this year, a whisper. Lenders are estimating mortgage lending to be strong during the first half of the year.

Steve Olejnik, chief operating officer of Mortgages for Business, commented on the current climate of the UK housing market, saying: “There was an obvious incentive for landlords to do business in the final quarter of 2016, which led to an increase in buy to let borrowing. Many investors will have wanted to beat the PRA’s tightening of buy to let affordability checks, which came into force on 1 January, as well as the forthcoming changes to income tax relief on finance costs. Increased landlord confidence will have also been driven by greater familiarity with the changes to stamp duty earlier the year, and a more stable macro-economic outlook following post-referendum turbulence.”

Olejnik added: “While the fiscal and regulatory changes will affect investor demand, the property market will continue to offer strong returns to those who take an intelligent and level-headed approach to their portfolios.”