Equally, the issue of investment property has also been a mixed bag. Prices have fallen at the same time as the supply of mortgages - including buy-to-let mortgages - has been greatly reduced. This has been bad news for those looking to take out such a loan to acquire properties, but not for those who have the funds to be cash buyers. For them the slump has brought a number of opportunities to acquire property for less.

According to a new report from finance website moneysupermarket.com, the latest situation is that interest in buy-to-let mortgages is rising, yet the supply is not. A study by the site has found that since August 2008 the number of enquiries has risen by 50 per cent, yet at the same time the number of products available is 70 per cent down.

Mortgage channel manager at the site Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield said: "New and existing buy-to-let landlords face a difficult task in finding a suitable mortgage. Our figures show nearly ten per cent of those looking for a mortgage are looking for a buy-to-let mortgage, but the number of products has fallen by over two-thirds compared to this time last year." She went on to warn that this could lead to a lack of new landlords at a time when demand is rising.

Another factor reducing the supply of landlords has been identified by the Association of Residential Lettings Agents Arla. The body has noted a fall in the number of so-called reluctant landlords - homeowners who rent out houses because they cannot sell them. The picture has become particularly notable in London and the south-east, where respectively 72.5 per cent and 78 per cent of Arla members have seen a decrease in this practice.

So, as the market picks up, this practice is "slowly diminishing", Arla operations director Ian Potter commented.