Buy to let Property has replaced pensions as the investment choice for millions of people.

The rise in house prices and poorly performing pension funds have given a massive boost to buy-to-let investors.

House prices rose 10.5 per cent last year; a typical home rose £45 a day in value and is now worth £173,746.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors estimate a seven per cent rise in house prices for 2007.

Buy-to-let is now the largest investment sector with over £130bn being invested in the last ten year.

Even if property prices do not move for the next few year property investment remains an attractive proposition as part of a multi-asset portfolio.

The average buy-to-let investor made over £7,700 in 2007 and generated almost £10,000 in rent, a return on an investment of £17,700 or 11.4 per cent.

Buy-to-let mortgages were launched 10 years ago.

New research reveals rising house prices mean that property ownership in the south of England is lower than in the north.

The national average of home ownership within the UK is currently 65 per cent, 71 per cent of the population of Yorkshire own property, compared to 61 per cent in London.

Affordability is the real issue with average house prices exceeding £350,000 in London, with many first-time buyers struggling to purchase properties.

The north-south divide has traditionally been the well-off south and the poor north.

First time buyer with 100% Mortgages, are now increasingly seeking to buy in up and coming areas undergoing regeneration or with improved transport infrastructure.

The Elephant and Castle is known to be the latest buying spot for first time buyers with 100% Mortgages.