Britons rent properties in face of crunch

The credit crunch is forcing an increasing number of Britons to rent property instead of buying, experts have revealed.

According to research from moneysupermarket, five per cent more British residents are renting in comparison with the number in October 2007.

Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at the price comparison site, claimed that the rise in the number of people renting had not stemmed the reduction in buy-to-let mortgage options.

"You would imagine this would mean the buy-to-let market would start to grow. However, our research shows the number of buy-to-let products has decreased from 4025 to 674 in just one year, with nearly 600 of these products removed since March 31st," she said.

"As stringent lending pushes people into the buy to let market, the decrease in the number of buy to let mortgages becomes increasingly alarming. I fear we will soon see many people unable to buy or rent - the question is, where do they go from there?" Ms Cuming added.

The research also revealed that 11 per cent of respondents were hoping to get a mortgage but were priced out of the market.

UK Property News posted on 06/05/2008 09:34:43