Ten facts you need to know about the UK buy to let market

1. As of September 2007, there were 991,000 buy-to-let mortgages outstanding.
2. In 1998, there were just 28,000 BTL mortgages.
3. Again, as of September 2007, the total gross outstanding value of BTL mortgages was £116 billion; an amount equivalent to about 8.5 percent of GDP.
4. In the 12 months up to September 2007, BTL mortgage lending increased by almost £22 billion - an annual growth rate of 17 percent. In terms of additional borrowing, this amount was equivalent to almost 2 percent of GDP.
5. During the same period, the number of outstanding BTL mortgages increased by 27 percent.
6. In 2007, the average value of a BTL mortgage was £117,000. In 1999, it was just £73,000.
7. Northern Rock and Paragon were two of the top five BTL mortgage providers during the first of 2007. At the risk of understatement, both institutions experienced significant financing difficulties during the second half of 2007.
8. Almost a third - 31 percent - of BTL landlords are over 55.
9. Around 41 percent of buy-to-let investors are women.
10. Some 57 percent of BTL landlords are in the business of building assets rather than supplementing income. In other words, it is not about the rent, it is about the capital appreciation.

(Sources: Council of Mortgage Lenders, Citywire)