It has been said often enough in recent times that buy-to-let has two notable characteristics at present. One of these is that there is a determination on the part of most investors to make their investment a long-term one, eschewing the notion of making a quick profit and seeking instead to enjoy the long-term gains the industry can bring.

Secondly, there is perhaps a shorter-term aspect where demand for letting and the increase in rents have both risen rapidly, making possible higher returns and ensuring properties do not lie idle for lack of willing tenants.

These two factors are, of course, two sides of the same coin. Both reflect the state of the residential property industry at this point. With the credit crunch seeing mortgage choice reduced and the uncertainty that has gone with it also slowing the market, house prices have ceased to rise in the way they have been doing for the last few years, meaning that the short-term option of investing, letting for a while and then selling the property at a profit is no longer viable.

Yet at the same time this slower market has led to the increase in demand from people who would otherwise be looking to get out of rental accommodation and onto the housing ladder, were it not for the loss of high loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages, tighter lending criteria and higher deposits.

Such, it appears, is the case with the latest news about the level of demand for buy-to-let. Research by letting agent Your Move has shown that the number of leases starting in January and February this year was 21 per cent higher than in the same two months of 2007.

Reflecting on this, managing director David Newnes had no doubt about the reasons for the trend, stating: "First-time buyers with little or no deposit are finding it virtually impossible to secure high LTV mortgages - the days of 125 per cent mortgage are long gone. But frustrated wannabe first time buyers still need a roof over their heads - and buy-to-let is filling the gap."

As a consequence, he added: "The private rented sector is the out-and-out beneficiary of the liquidity squeeze."

With such figures emerging, it is small wonder that buy-to-let appears alive and well, particularly among those looking to invest for the long term. Last week the Times' expert on the subject, Paula Hawkins, advised that the minimum term to which investors should commit themselves is seven years. But given the opportunities that a slower housing market as a whole provides - even if this may change through the course of 2008 as interest rates come down and the effects of the credit crunch gradually wear off - the attractions of being in the market for a long time are clear.

In today's world Property investment is an excellent investment option especially investment in UK