"It has been harder for investors to access funds and the feedback from our brokers suggests that more are turning to bridging finance as a result. "
Due to these legislation changes, the survey found increasing demand for bridging finance to fund development projects, as investors look to bolster yields.
A third of the 122 respondents said the most popular reason for taking out a bridging loan in the second quarter of this year was to fund a development project, up from 24% during the same period of 2017.
Refurbishment was the second most popular reason for getting a bridging loan at 27%, compared to 19% during the second quarter of 2017.
Overall demand for bridging finance increased in the second quarter, with 38% of brokers noticing a rise in bridging loan volume, up from 30% in the first quarter of 2018.
The biggest demand for bridging loans in Q2 2018 came from the South East at 30%, followed by the midlands at 19%.
Gareth Lewis, commercial director at mtf, said: “With mainstream lenders implementing tougher affordability restrictions, it has been harder for investors to access funds and the feedback from our brokers suggests that more are turning to bridging finance as a result. In particular, investors are looking to add value to a property rather than purchase a property as a straight forward portfolio investment.
“This trend is evidently not just limited to light and decorative refurbishment, but also property conversion, extensions, reconfiguration and smaller scale ground up developments.
“We believe we will continue to see a substantial rise in the demand for development and refurbishment products throughout the rest of the year.”
