Bridging Loan market continues to grow

Figures released this week on Bridging loan lending have shown that gross lending in 2011 has grown to £911m and is continuing to accelerate. To give some context around these numbers, they represent a 110% increase in amount from 2010 and a 62% increase in deal volume. Noteworthy too is the fact that the average deal size rose to £322,000 (an increase of 28% from the 2010 level) indicating that Borrowers are getting braver and taking on bigger projects – surely reflecting their increased confidence in the market. This news shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone actively involved in the Bridging loans market as they will all tell you that it has been the busiest period in the industry in recent history. Demand is being fuelled primarily by the Buy to Let market in the UK as many people are forced to rent rather than buy – due to a lack of available mortgage credit – and rental yields are increasing all across the country, though led, predictably by London. With other assets showing a relatively poor return, Buy to Let investors have returned in force to satisfy this new demand. This is reinforced by a further statistic that shows an increase in the proportion of Bridging loan deals that are residential in nature. In 2010 it was 77% but in 2011 this had jumped to 84%. Indications are that this trend is set to continue. Several new Bridging loan lenders have come to the market in the past 18 months and at Choice Loans we can now offer access to a wide panel of Lenders – both public and private – to provide loans from £5,000 to £5m. To complete and application for, please go to our Bridging loan page here.