A key part of Britain's housing market is cooling rapidly

pulse

May 18, 2017 8:54 AM

The percentage of new valuations of properties being done for buy-to-let purposes was just 7% in total in April 2017.

A couple view properties for sale in an estate agents window in London

LONDON — The number of properties sold to buy-to-let (BTL) landlords fell sharply in April as recent changes to taxation on second homes continue to bite.

According to new data from estate agents Connells released overnight on Thursday and reported by the Financial Times, the percentage of new valuations of properties being done for buy-to-let purposes was just 7% in total in April 2017.

That compares with the five-year average for the month of April, which stands at 13%.

The fall in interest in the buy-to-let market has largely been driven by a series of changes to property taxes that were effectively designed to slow BTL's rapid growth.

That was largely down to the laxer standards for giving BTL purchases, which are generally done

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