Skandia: investors to withdraw £18bn from buy-to-let

Sliding residential property prices, compounded by higher mortgage servicing costs and sluggish rental growth, will drive many aspiring landlords from buy-to-let property, releasing a vast sum of private investment capital that has gone into property speculation in recent years, according to the research. At least £18bn of equity tied up in houses and flats is expected to be released from property in coming years as the mortgage-backed buy-to-let market shrinks to its average size over the past decade. The stock of buy-to-let mortgages rose from £2bn in 1998 to £120bn by the end of 2007...