Almost one in six landlords (17%) would consider opting for a variable tracker rate BTL loan when remortgaging, while 6% might revert to SVRs, revealed the latest Landbay survey.
This is a significant growth, as the lender’s previous study carried out last August — before the mini-Budget — showed that no landlord would take a tracker BTL loan for remortgaging.
According to Landbay, the rise in landlords considering trackers is due to the economic uncertainty, as some respondents don’t want to commit to a long-term product now in the hopes that rates will come down in the next year or two.
Despite this, fixed rates remain the go-to options for the majority of landlords, as more than three quarters of survey respondents expect to opt for a fixed-rate deal for remortgaging.
Five-year fixes remain the most popular choices among landlords, with 46% of survey participants preferring this — however, this is lower than the lender’s previous survey results, when 68% said they’d opt for a five-year fix.
In addition, the latest research highlighted a rise in popularity for shorter-term fixes, with almost a quarter (24%) of landlords eyeing up two- or three-year fixed-rate terms, compared to 13% in the previous survey.
Paul Brett, managing director for intermediaries at Landbay (pictured above), said: “When we talk about this year of mortgage maturity, much of the conversation is focused on first-time buyers or traditional households. It’s important we remember the many landlords who are set to remortgage too, and judging by our latest data, fixes still look like the preferred product.
“However, it’s interesting to see how landlords’ views of their remortgaging options have changed since September’s mini-budget — fewer landlords are considering five-year fixed rates and more are looking at two-year fixes.
“There was a considerable rise in landlords thinking of taking a tracker mortgage, up from zero to 17%.
“A tracker mortgage is a safer option for some who don’t want to commit to a fixed rate; the advantage with trackers is there are no ERCs, so borrowers can move to a fixed product if rates come down later in the year.”
