More than half of brokers are expecting to see buy-to-let business increase over the next 12 months, research by Paragon has found.

Its research suggests that 53% of brokers predict their buy-to-let business will rise over the next 12 months, while 35% expect it will remain broadly the same.

Paragon found that 10% of brokers believe buy-to-let business will decline, unchanged from the last survey, and 2% said they didn’t know.

The proportion of brokers expecting an increase in business was up by 3% compared to last quarter’s figure of 50%.

In the previous survey 40% of brokers felt buy-to-let business would be steady over the year ahead.

Paragon Mortgages director of sales Moray Hulme says: “These figures suggest that the strong levels of buy-to-let business witnessed over the last six to nine months wasn’t just as a result of the stamp duty stimulus, but down to more fundamental shifts in where and how people want to live.

“We still expect to see business levels moderate as the stamp duty holiday ends but landlords are seeing plenty of opportunities to expand their portfolios to meet excellent levels of tenant demand and changes in the type of property people now want to rent. 

“There has certainly been a growth in tenant demand for family homes, for example, and landlords are reacting accordingly.”

Hulme adds: “Mortgage brokers have experienced a busy 12 months after the initial panic of the coronavirus pandemic. 

“They enter the second half of 2021 in a confident, robust mood, which is indicative of the underlying demand for mortgage products.”