With the stock market continuing to see significant drops - and investors on the whole having no control over their investments, many more are turning to buy to let property investment for the first time.

But did you know buy to let has only been around for 15 years?

Buy-to-let was developed on 24th September 1996 at the RAC Club, Pall Mall, in response to the demand for rented property following the recession. After 15 years, buy-to-let investment is more popular than ever in the UK, and the rental market continues to go from strength to strength.

In August 2011, demand for rented homes drove rents up by 1.2 per cent (the fastest rate this year) leaving UK tenants to face an average rent of £713 per month, according to LSL Property Services. In London, rents are now even higher, hitting a record monthly peak of £1,025 - £63 more than August last year. There are now 3.4 million rented homes across England, with this number increasing year on year.

In the first half of 2011, UK house builder Barratt reported a 25 per cent increase in sales to buy-to-let investors, while the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Paragon Mortgages found increased activity in the buy-to-let remortgage sector between the first and second quarter of 2011.

Since buy-to-let's younger years, 2.1 million loans have been advanced while the value of buy-to-let balances has jumped from £5.4 billion in 1999 to £154.5 billion in 2011.

On average, landlords expect to have 13.1 residential properties in their portfolios in a year's time, compared with 12.6 properties currently. This is the first time in two years that landlords have predicted an increase, as increased confidence in the values and the high rental yields is shown by landlords.

We are seeing some opportunities in 2011 that are better than ever, and will source more properties for investors this year, than in any of the last 7 years due to the excellent negotiating our sourcers are doing, and the high demand from UK and Overseas clients alike.

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Article written by Alan Forsyth.