The number of properties being bought by landlords in order to be rented, known as buy-to-let, has fallen by almost half since last year, according to new figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
The number of buy-to-let purchases has plummeted
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has lowered its prediction for the value of buy-to-let sales for 2017 and 2018, while the number of first time buyers has risen.
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helped by falling interest rates and the slowing growth of UK property prices.
The CML attributes the slowdown in buy-to-let purchases to the impact of tax and prudential measures, and hangover effects from last year's change to stamp duty.
Landlords paying higher rates of tax are now experiencing a drop in the amount of tax deduction they can claim from mortgage interest each year, a measure introduced in April. This, says the CML, has made landlords more cautious about expanding their portfolios.
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Gross mortgage lending, which reached £20.1bn in May, was up 12% both on last year's figure and on the figure for April. But the CML is clear that the housing market has "stalled" in recent months, and predicts there could be a slowdown in the number of property transactions - typically at around 100,000 per month in 2016, but down to 65,000 in April - over the rest of the year.