Back in September 2009, there were only 179 mortgage choices – down considerably from the massive 3,662 deal options on offer in August 2007. But according to research by financial group, MoneyFacts, the mortgage market has taken a turn for the better, with a rise up to 304 mortgage options for investment landlords.

It’s still nowhere near the choices available in 2007, but given the low levels we’ve seen in recent years, it’s a significant improvement. What’s more, the choice of mortgage options available for landlords has increased too, opening up more potential for landlords who only have small deposits available.

Making a welcome return are 80% and 85% mortgages, plus the average interest rate on a two year fixed rate loan has dropped from 5.96% to 5.66%. It’s all good news for the buy-to-let market, which is picking up well after being hit by the recession.

However, not everyone is getting too excited quite yet. It’s not yet clear whether or not the new government will be making changes to capital gains tax. If it is increased – and some predictions are suggesting that it could rise to as much as 40% on non-business assets, such as buy-to-let properties – then it could have a bit of an effect on the buy-to-let market.

According to research carried by The Paragon Group, professional landlords are reporting that buy-to-let mortgages are becoming difficult to obtain.

The findings arouse after Paragon’s recent Trends research, which involved a panel-based survey of UK landlords. Over half of the professional landlords taking part in the research (54%) had attempted to obtain a buy-to-let mortgage in the three months leading up to the end of August 2009, either for buying a new property purchase or for remortgaging purposes.

Of those 54%, nearly nine out of 10 commented that it was more difficult to secure a buy-to-let mortgage than it previously had been.

Nearly one in 10 (8.4%) people said they’d not noticed any change in the availability of buy-to-let mortgages and 2.8% said they’d found it slightly easier to get a mortgage.

The number of buy-to-let mortgage options available has dropped slightly from May 2009, from 218 to 196, but they’re certainly not unobtainable.

One of the advantages of buying property from HBF Investments, compared to on the open market, is that there are dedicated panel brokers at hand to help you get the best mortgage deal.

If you’re going to purchase an investment property with HBF Investments, you’ll be registered with a panel broker, who’ll quickly and efficiently check out the latest mortgage deals and help you find the best option for you.

At a time when the number of available buy-to-let mortgages seems to have decreased, it’s even more helpful to have such an individual, tailored option available.