Buy To Let Tumble

New lending for buy-to-let continued to decline in the fourth quarter of 2008. There were 37,000 new loans, worth £3.9 billion - 12% down (19% by value) on the third quarter, and 56% down (65% by value) compared with the fourth quarter of 2007. The CML only began collecting quarterly buy to let data in 2006, but on the basis of previous half-yearly data this is almost certainly the lowest quarterly lending figure since 2003.

Outstanding buy to let mortgages represented around 10% of all loans, and around 11% of the value of all lending, at the end of 2008.