Mortgage brokers are predicting a rise in the buy-to-let mortgage market over the next 12 months, according to Paragon.

Data collected by the firm shows that 20 per cent of brokers believe the BTL market will see a rise in 2020, compared to 11 per cent who believe it will decline.

Overall, brokers expect to do 0.8 per cent more business this year.

The proportion of landlords obtaining BTL finance for portfolio extension rose to its highest level since Q1 2017 during the final quarter of 2019, at 24.5 per cent, says the firm.

Paragon adds that of the BTL landlords remortgaging in Q4 2019, 61 per cent did so in order to secure a better interest rate.

Furthermore, the data shows that brokers said the BTL market accounted for 17.7 per cent of overall business in Q4 2019, its highest proportion for a year.

Paragon managing director Richard Rowntree says: “BTL lending has been driven by remortgage business in recent years, so it is great to see the proportion of lending for portfolio extension purposes increase and hit its highest level for nearly three years.

“It is also encouraging to see that the balance of brokers expecting to write more BTL business is positive for 2020 as confidence has been subdued for much of the past four years.

“These are green shoots and we hope that they will continue throughout this year on the back of a more certain regulatory, economic and political environment.”