Just as transactions in the mainstream market ramp up for spring and summer, so enquiries about buy to let mortgages have slumped dramatically.

BTL mortgage searches online were down 23.4 per cent in April compared to the prior month – and in London the drop was slightly larger at 24.4 per cent.

Data from mortgage consultancy Twenty7Tec shows that the properties that landlords were looking to buy nudged down in average values by 1.1 per cent nationally and 3.7 per cent in London.

Those looking had, on average, higher combined incomes of £68,907 (up 4.7 per cent nationally compared to the previous month) and £88,276 (up 3.7 per cent in London compared to March.)

The average LTV has dropped considerably over the past year, from 62 per cent in April 2022 to 54 per cent in April 2023 for London; and from 66 per cent in April 2022 to 61 per cent in April 2023.

Over this period, London average BTL property prices dropped 4.06 per cent whilst loans required for London BTL dropped 15.3 per cent – indicating that landlords put larger deposits down

National average BTL property prices rose 0.61 per cent whilst loans required dropped 8.43 per cent.