June saw a spike in buy-to-let (BTL) purchase activity, the latest data from Legal & General’s SmartrCriteria tool shows.

Data found that searches on behalf of portfolio landlords soared by 21%, while those for consumer BTL mortgages grew by 7%.

Holiday lets or AirBnB was also the ninth most searched criteria point, up from tenth the previous month in May.

The latest data suggests that family members continue to play a key role in helping first-time buyers onto the property ladder.

‘First-time buyer/first-time landlord/non-owner occupier was the third most used criteria point, while ‘joint borrower sole proprietor’ took the fifth spot, the data found. 

Despite wider economic pressure, the number of searches for guarantor/family assist mortgages and gifted equity/concessionary purchase mortgages both remained comparable to May dropping by 1% and rising by 0.4% respectively.

Meanwhile, demand for specialist products remained high in June, with searches on behalf of applicants purchasing discounted market sale properties rocketing by 66%.

Let-to-buy applicants also went up by 7%. As in May, most searches were made on behalf of applicants with a Visa. 

L&G Mortgage Club head of lender relationships Danny Belton says: “It is reassuring to see strong demand across the board despite wider economic pressure. The fifth consecutive base rate rise, which came mid-month, does not seem to have dented the high levels of activity in the market and brokers and lenders alike are still as busy as ever.”

“With product criteria changes coming thick and fast, advisers have a crucial role in reassuring and educating buyers through what might be a more difficult mortgage journey,” Belton adds.