The term ‘first-time landlords’ was the most looked for criteria in February, says Knowledge Bank.

This also means that it featured in the top five searches for the tenth month in a row. The technology firm believes that people who would normally deploy their money into stocks could now be paying attention to the buy-to-let market.

Additionally, ‘first-time buyer’ hit the top five for the second month in a row.

Within BTL specifically, the second most searched for term was ‘lending to limited companies’ and the third, ‘requirement to be a homeowner.’

It should come as no surprise that within the residential category of search terms, ‘Covid-19 furloughed workers’ was number one. This was followed by ‘maximum age at end of term’ and ‘self-employed one years’ accounts’ – another entry featuring for the tenth consecutive month.

The only change in residential lending was the fifth most looked for term – ‘soft footprint at Dip stage’.

For second charge searches, ‘maximum LTV’ took the number one spot, with ‘capital raising for debt consolidation’ behind this.

In equity release, brokers looked for ‘leasehold remaining term/beginning of term’ and ‘timber framed construction’ with the most frequency.

And in bridging, ‘maximum LTV’ was number one, ‘regulated bridging number two’ and at number five, ‘second charge loan’ made its first appearance since October 2020.

Knowledge Bank operations director Matthew Corker says: “The rental market in the UK is receiving a lot of interest at the moment. Perhaps as a result of the volatility in the stock market due to the pandemic, investors are turning to what they see as a safe investment. With house prices increasing in the past year and interest in rental properties also on the increase, this trend could be set to continue.

“The furlough scheme was again at the top of the list for brokers in the residential market, and the latest extension to the job support scheme will undoubtably result in more lenders adjusting criteria.

“The stamp duty extension may bring a raft of new clients to the market. However, they will need to move quickly as even with the extra three months, the deadline is still tight for those who have not already started the process.”