New research by IRESS, has found that swelling demand for buy-to-let mortgages has triggered a surge in the number of buy-to-let products available on the market.

A spot poll of mortgage brokers, conducted at IRESS’ recent buy-to-let roadshows, has revealed that nine in ten (89%) have seen the demand for buy-to-let mortgage products increase over the past 12 months, while just 2% have seen demand subside.

This increased demand has been matched by an increase in product variety. 89% of intermediaries have seen the number of BTL products available on the market increase over the same time frame, with 28% believing it has increased significantly and less than 2% seeing a decrease.

IRESS’ own analysis of data found that over the first six months of 2014 the number of buy to let purchase products available to mortgage brokers has increased by 47%, to 2,470. Over the course of the last 12 months, there has been an increase of 55%.

However the increase in products available has focused on investors with the largest deposits. The number of products for purchase aimed at those with a loan to value (LTV) of 85% has only seen a 12% increase in the past 6 months, and remain few, with the number at just 46 by the end of June.

By comparison, at the other end of the spectrum, 60% LTV product availability has seen much faster growth, up by 55% over the same period to 289.