New research by the Ocasa rental platform seems to show that, for the time being at least, the private rented sector continues to be the preferred pick for many investors. The research shows that the rate of growth in the number of homes in the UK over the last decade was 7.5%, the rate of growth in PRS over the same period was 12.2%.

Quoted in Letting Agent Today, Ocasa spokesperson Jack Godby said "Not only has the high cost of home ownership forced many to remain within the rental sector until far later in life ..... [there's] a generational change whereby the freedom and convenience that renting provides is becoming the preferable method of living for many."

If this is the case then it would explain the increasing popularity of build to rent for institutional investors but doesn't square with the concerns of some about the numbers of landlords said to be leaving the sector.