There was a massive slowdown in buy to let lending by investors as the additional homes stamp duty surcharge passed – with an 85 per cent plunge in lending in April compared to March, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Only 4,200 loans were made in April to buy to let purchasers – compared with 28,700 loans in March.

The April BTL loans were collectively worth £600m, some 86 per cent down on the £4.3 billion of loans to the sector in March.

Buy to let lending in April was also only around half that in the same month a year earlier. 

“There is a sense of calm after the storm this month, as lending eased back, following the significant rises in activity in March as borrowers looked to beat the second property stamp duty deadline. We expect the market to take several months to return to its previous levels after the lending surge” says Paul Smee, CML director general.