The buy to let sector of the UK housing market is flourishing currently, outpacing first time buyer mortgages by a four to one margin. Landlords obtained £1.6bn of funding for properties from banks and building societies during the month of July, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This is an increase of more than 30% over the same month last year. Remortgages are the only other sector giving buy to let a run for its money. Home owners are making a mad dash to lock in fixed rate deals before the increase in base rate, expected within the next few months.

Remortgage deals by owner occupiers totaled more than £5bn during the month of July which is an increase of 34% since the beginning of 2015.

Paul Smee of the CML commented on the current climate of buy to let, saying: “The market has shown steady growth in house purchase and buy-to-let over the past few months with general improvements in economic factors across the UK allowing for more people to enter the property market.”

Smee added: "This positive direction of travel going into the autumn months reinforces our recent revised forecasts that lending levels should continue to grow gradually over the rest of the year after a subdued beginning.”

IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer commented on the future of house prices, saying: “We expect house prices to rise 7pc in 2015 and then by 6pc in 2016. A significant upside risk to these forecasts is currently coming from the shortage of houses on the market.”

Archer continued: “Nevertheless, the upside for housing market activity and prices is expected to be constrained by more stretched house prices to earnings ratios, tighter checking of prospective mortgage borrowers by lenders and the likelihood that interest rates will soon start rising gradually.”