Intermediaries are confident about the the prospects of the buy-to-let and new build markets for the next six months, according to research conducted by NatWest Intermediary Solutions. 

In a survey the lender conducted with over 500 mortgage intermediaries, it found that 58% had seen an increase in buy-to-let business in the last three months with only 1 in 20 saying that they had seen a drop. 27% said that it had remained static.

Looking forward to the next six months, 54% expect to do more buy-to-let business than the last six months, with only 4% expecting to do less. 32% are forecasting that their buy-to-let business will remain stable.

Turning to New Build, 57% of brokers were optimistic about the prospects for the sector this year. 25% were pessimistic with 17% saying they were unsure.

Of those that said they had a New Build development in their area, the majority (57%) believe they will write more business this year compared to last year. 21% said they weren’t sure whilst 16% thought they would do less. 32% of all brokers in the survey said they didn’t have any New Build developments in their area.

Graham Felstead, head of NatWest Intermediary Solutions, said: “The buy-to-let and New Build sectors have both been touted as growth areas for 2015 and this sentiment has been echoed by the optimism shown by brokers in our survey. We have an appetite to grow our presence in both of these areas of the mortgage market, and have recently refreshed our New Build proposition to offer a more attractive approach to builder’s incentives.

“The buy-to-let market is one where we have made great strides in the last couple of years. We have focused specifically on non-professional landlords with small portfolios – an area of the market where there has been significant growth and one that is expected to continue to be buoyant as more people turn to property as a viable investment alternative to traditional pension arrangements.”