Landlords see yields rise further

Rental incomes subsequently reached £11,886 in February - a 2.4 per cent increase on January's peak and 5.2 per cent more than the previous quarter.

Large scale investors currently dominate the market within the private rented sector, benefitting from both their market experience and their ability to secure finance. Today 13 per cent of landlords own more than 100 properties, representing a huge proportion of the current stock.

John Heron, Paragon’s director of mortgages, said: “Large scale landlords have a very different view of the market from the short-term speculator – some of whom invested without a great deal of thought in new build properties, which they may now be having to sell into a more difficult market.

"Serious landlords take a long-term perspective based on the underlying dynamics of supply and demand. They hold their property investment assets for more than 10 years, and decide to buy or sell based on sound commercial considerations rather than short-term signals in house prices or economic sentiment."

Heron concluded: "There is no evidence that this class of investor is spooked either by the credit crunch or by the uncertain outlook for house prices.”