The results from the latest Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) survey have been released, after 444 letting agents and 289 residential landlords were polled.

Despite a fall in house prices, the survey revealed that the majority of buy to let landlords had resolved to maintain their portfolios of residential investment property. Only a small minority of 1.3 per cent of those surveyed expected to sell as a result of current market conditions.

According to the survey, investment landlords expected to hold their residential property investments for the best part of two decades, up to an average of 17.2 years, a rise of .5 years from the previous quarter.

Four out of ten expected to increase their portfolios during the coming twelve months, and 7.3% could alter their let portfolios.

It revealed a lower loan to value ratio than generally reported and an increase in the length of time investment landlords expected to hold their properties. ARLA pointed out that it was only the individual buy to let landlords who were investing in housing at the moment.

Ian Potter, head of operations at ARLA, said the survey confirmed buy to let landlords as prudent investors for the long term. These investors understood the realities of the investment market they had chosen.

He also said this understanding would appear to be far greater than that shown by investors in many other markets and was proving to be a bonus for the nation’s housing problems. No one else was investing in residential housing at the moment.

Published at the end of June, the Review and Index is supported by the ARLA Group of Mortgage Lenders, Bank of Ireland Mortgages, Cheltenham & Gloucester, GMAC RFC, Mortgage Express, NatWest and Paragon Mortgages.