Bricks and mortar seduce investors once more

Certainly, one of the biggest attractions resulting in increasing numbers of people investing in buy-to-let properties comes from the fact UK rents have reached new record highs with the latest rental price index from property portal Findaproperty.com stating that the average cost of renting a home in the UK rose by 2% in Q2 2011 reaching a staggering £867 a month by the end of June as demand from frustrated first time buyers struggling to get on the property ladder continues to bump up prices.

In response to the surge in demand for rental property, further data taken from the index shows a 9.7% increase in the number of properties being offered for rent in the three months to the end of June this year with the the increase taking the annual rise in rents to 4.4%.

Alan Forsyth, Director of  buy-to-let experts, Property Secrets comments:

"Although not as easy as it was four years ago, investors are once again recognising that purchasing buy-to-let property in the UK can offer significant long term gains and with property prices having fallen to more affordable levels those who chose to invest for rental returns rather than capital growth certainly won't be disappointed.

"And, even though London rents are at a jaw dropping high we believe that the North East of England offers the best of both worlds - a lucrative buy-to-let market that still provides a very healthy average rent of £582 a month according to the index but with very affordable purchase entry levels.

"You only have to look at our incredible offers in the North East area to understand why investing here makes sense."

As the proud owner of 20 buy to let units purchased through investment experts Property Secrets, property investor Scott Goodall from London has been a loyal devotee to the buy-to-let model across the UK for over two years and is pleased that the market is bulking up once more.

He comments:

"I have bought over a third of my portfolio through Property Secrets primarily because they source sensible and affordable properties in emerging cities and towns in the UK that will provide the best results.

"My buy-to-let properties achieve between 7.6% and 9% yields with the majority of them suitable for business people and young families although I have dipped my toe into the expanding student accommodation market by buying a couple of pods.

"I absolutely love buy-to-let investing and the opportunities it provides and I would certainly encourage fellow investors thinking about diving into the buy-to-let world to give Property Secrets a call and take advantage of the rising demand for rental property -now is the time."