Monthly BTL sales rise 3%

Residential mortgage sales hit a post-2008 high, growing by 2.6% on the previous month to £13.2bn.

For residential and buy-to-let mortgage sales combined, Northern Ireland was the strongest region for sales growth for the third month in a row, with sales up 11.3% on May. Meanwhile London saw the biggest decline in sales during the month, dropping 3.8% on the previous month.

Iain Hill, Relationship Manager, at Equifax Touchstone, said: “June was another strong month for mortgage sales, despite an anticipated drop ahead of the EU referendum. Now an exit has become a reality, the really interesting stats to watch will be the July sales. There are a myriad of factors affecting house buying decisions and people will be weighing these up very carefully before deciding to take the plunge. The market is expecting sales to fall, but the extent of the impact is much harder to predict. We anticipate that lenders will react quickly and decisively to support sales, encouraging buyers with competitive new deals at lower rates.”