Buy-to-let landlords rush to beat tax changes
Homebuyers borrowed £17.9bn last month, the highest January total for eight years, as buy-to-let landlords rushed to beat forthcoming tax changes. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the figure was 21% higher than the amount lent in January 2014, with real wage growth, falling unemployment and competitive mortgage deals all helping to stimulate borrowing. CML economist Mohammad Jamei said lending started the year on a positive note but that the outlook for later in the year was not so good.
Source: The Times (19/02/2016)