Buy-to-let mortgage lending has risen at an average quarterly rate of 7% over the past year, matching the growth seen among first-time buyers and home movers, according to the latest analysis from Alexander Hall. Improving conditions in the mortgage market have helped sustain borrowing demand for rental properties.
Alexander Hall examined historical data from the Bank of England, focusing on quarterly gross mortgage advances by loan purpose. The aim was to track how activity across each buyer segment has evolved as the broader mortgage landscape stabilises.
The analysis shows that in Q3 of last year, £6.6bn was lent in the buy-to-let sector. Although buy-to-let mortgages represent the smallest segment of the market at 8.2% of total lending, this figure marked a 22% increase on the previous quarter and a 26% rise compared with Q3 2024.
Over the last year, buy-to-let lending has grown at the same 7% quarterly rate as both first-time buyer and home mover lending. Only remortgaging activity recorded stronger growth, with an average quarterly increase of 12%, reflecting borrowers taking advantage of improving rates and affordability to refinance.
The findings indicate that despite regulatory changes and media reports of landlords leaving the market, borrowing demand for rental properties remains resilient and aligns closely with the broader recovery across the mortgage market.
This trend is supported by UK Finance data for Q3 2025, which showed the value of new buy-to-let lending rose 28% year on year, while the number of new loans increased by 23% over the same period.
It also aligns with forecasts from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) released in December, which expect mortgage market activity to continue growing through 2026 and 2027 as interest rates ease, affordability improves, and lending conditions become more supportive.
Richard Merrett, managing director of Alexander Hall, said, “While some amateur landlords may have chosen to exit the sector following a string of Government regulatory changes designed to dent portfolio profitability, the idea of a widespread landlord exodus simply isn’t reflected in the lending data.
“In fact, our analysis shows that buy-to-let lending has been growing at the same pace as both first-time buyer and home mover activity over the last year, which underlines that investor appetites remain very much alive.
“Of course, there have been some notable improvements to the mortgage landscape which will have helped to fuel the fire, with lower rates, greater product availability, and more favourable monthly repayments all helping to support landlord margins and reinforce buy-to-let’s position as one of the more stable long-term investment options available.
“As confidence continues to return across the mortgage market, we expect this momentum to carry forward into 2026 as the buy-to-let sector continues to defy the narrative that landlords are calling time and looking to exit.”
