Latest research has indicated a boost in buy to let sales, while first time buyer activity has dropped.

There was a big rise of 33 per cent of buy to let valuations in May this year, compared to the same month in 2014. But on the flip side, the number of valuations for first time buyers has dropped by 4 per cent.

Compared to April, buy to let valuations were up 3 per cent in May, while the first time buyer valuations dropped 2 per cent.

Aspiring and current landlords are seeking to snap up the resources in the market. Unfortunately, this is part of the issue which is stealing these homes away from first time buyers.

For many young people attempting to get onto the property ladder for the first time, the housing market is just a depressing array of out-of-reach homes which they can’t afford. These are then snapped up by people who already have a backup of cash and property, and are possibly inflating the price of the homes which have remained available on the market.

Of course, those lucky enough to purchase a home through the help to buy scheme dodge this issue, with the deposit discount afforded by the scheme helping them to buy homes that they would be unable to purchase otherwise. Still, with only 100,000 homes having been sold through the scheme since its introduction over two years ago, it is only helping a sliver of the population.

With less people able to afford their own property more people are going to be turning to renting, possibly perpetuating this pattern.