The third quarter of 2010 saw a noticeable improvement in the availability of buy to let mortgages, according to Paragon Mortgages. Paragon’s Financial Advisor Confidence Tracker Report, which is a panel based survey of mortgage brokers, revealed four out of ten brokers saw the availability of mortgage finance improve during the third quarter. The third quarter ran parallel to Paragon’s return to the buy to let market, an improvement in the quantity of products available as well as an easing of lending criteria.

The research done by Paragon within the buy to let mortgage market revealed some mixed results. Almost 40 per cent of brokers said availability remained unchanged during the third quarter. Almost 20 per cent said it had gotten worse.

Optimistically speaking, just one out of every five intermediaries believed the financing will worsen over the fourth quarter. However, about 60 per cent believe there will be no change.

Paragon Mortgage’s managing director, John Heron, gave an overview of the buy to let market, saying: "The number of buy-to-let mortgages has been rising in recent months as lenders come back to the market or new lenders are launched, and criteria has also improved slightly. This is reflected in intermediaries' view of availability of buy-to-let finance, with more than double the number of brokers saying that it has improved rather than deteriorated.

"However, the market is still significantly below its July 2007 peak and access to finance remains difficult for professional landlords in particular. This is why Paragon's return to the sector is significant for this market as our service is designed to specifically cater for professional landlords."