More than 90% of buy-to-let investor landlords will keep their investment properties should house prices fall. Most see themselves as holding their investments for the long term. Nearly two thirds expect to maintain their property investments for more than ten years while more than a quarter (27%) expect to keep their properties for over 20 years.

These figures come from nearly six hundred landlords responding to a survey through the website of the Association of Residential Letting Agents, ARLA. The survey ran from before Christmas until the end of February and the results will be published on Monday 22nd March.

Said Robert Jordan FRICS, President of ARLA, "These figures totally reject propositions contained in some recent reports that future house price falls could impact on the buy-to-let market. Obviously, investment landlords understand that people have to live somewhere and should there be a housing problem they are as likely, if not more likely, to rent as to take any other form of tenure."

The ARLA website survey, carried out on behalf of the Association's panel of lenders, Birmingham Midshires, GMAC Residential Funding, NatWest Mortgage Services, Paragon Mortgages and The Mortgage Business, also showed the reasons for tenants renting.

Inability to buy pushes rental

Landlords believe that the most common reason for renting was the inability to buy. This applied to 44% of their tenants.

• Nearly a quarter of all tenants (22%) are believed to be renting because they prefer the flexibility it gives them.
• The landlords thought that 18% of their tenants do not want the responsibilities that go with home ownership.
• 17.3% of their tenants were renting because they are working away from home.

The landlords were asked the size of their buy-to-let portfolios. While four out of ten (39.7%) hold only one investment property, 42.3% have between two and five properties, 10% have between six and ten and 7.8% have more than ten properties in their portfolios. Overall, the buy-to-let portfolios averaged 5.5 properties.

The landlords were asked to describe how they perceived that other investor landlords of their acquaintance have done in the buy-to-let market. The respondents stated that more of their residential landlord acquaintances (46%) have built successful, profitable businesses than those falling into any other category.

The landlords thought that 7.5% of other landlords known to them may have made an expensive mistake and two out of ten are breaking even. A quarter of the landlords of their acquaintance were only just starting out as buy-to-let investors.

Commented Robert Jordan, "Although some of the responses are the result of subjective judgement, they provide a very relevant picture of the success of buy-to-let from among buy-to-let investors."

The survey also asked landlords about the proportion of their mortgage borrowings. Nearly two-thirds had borrowed less than 76% of their investments and 17% borrowed less than a quarter of the value of their properties. However, 39% said that the average loan to value ratio of their rented residential property was more than 76%. Analysis of these responses show the average loan to value ratio is 59%.