Increased confidence in the housing market

Residential landlords who are considering adding to their portfolios could be among those to be encouraged by renewed confidence in the mortgage market.

Ben Wilkie, editor of industry publication What Mortgage, said increased confidence in the housing market has led to greater flexibility among lenders.

"I think there's a bit more confidence in the market; the housing market seems to be back on a slightly more even keel [and] there's a bit more confidence to mortgage companies, so that to attract customers they have to be a bit more flexible with their loan-to-values," he said.

"Hopefully, the market is returning to something like what it was before the crash happened."

Santander recently announced an increase in loan-to-value (LTV) ratios on a number of its products.

The lender has increased maximum LTV for new-build houses from 80 per cent to 90 per cent and the ratio for new-build flats has also been increased from 70 per cent to 80 per cent.

Get a buy-to-let property insurance quote today from Simple Landlords Insurance.