Latest research in from one of the UK’s leading estate agents highlights how important homes to rent are set to become, both in general and at the top of renting sector as the number of households who rent looks set to exceed four million.

Savills says it expects both average UK rents and their Prime London equivalent to rise by 20.5% over the next five years driven by struggling first time buyers unable to get on to the property ladder along with those ‘reluctant to commit’ to moving up it.

Approximately one in five homes will be privately rented by 2016, Savills believes, up from the one in six households rented at the moment (according to English Housing) and a drastic increase on one in ten rented during the early noughties.

Homes to rent: a five-bedroom house currently on offer at £18,417 a month in Knightsbridge, London.

What this represents is a dramatic end to the Margaret Thatcher inspired assumption that everyone has a right to own their own home and eventually gets on the property ladder. Instead, if the trend that Savills highlight continues, it is only a matter of time before we end with a German property market with only the wealthy owning property in early life.

One of the more ironic elements of this situation is that, as the Savills research points out, it is those who wish to live in central London who face the hardest uphill battle to own their first property – a group highlighted by the TV series Made In Chelsea (pictured below); relatively wealthy 20-somethings who can’t afford to buy in London and who have to pay high rents to maintain their chic addresses. But having watched the mockumentary, your sympathies may end there.

The ultimate winners in this type of market is the nation’s 400,000 private landlords. Decreasing or stagnant house prices and rising rents are driving up ‘yields’ for them. Yields are rent as a percentage of property value and Savills they could hit up to nine per cent in areas where home ownership is low but demand for rental properties.

Given that even the best savings accounts and investment vehicles struggle to delivery much better than four or five per cent interest, it’s easy to see why the buy to let market is showing signs of recovery – lending jumped by 16% over the last quarter and is at its highest level since 2008.

New PrimeLocation.com research reveals some of the highest buy-to-let yields in university locations around the UK. Here is the full list.

It is the greatest publishing phenomenon of the 21st century and yet most experts agree it is still in its infancy -  blogging. And it’s continuing to grow rapidly as a new generation of writers take to the blogosphere, ready to exploit their passion for property and in the knowledge that there is a ready audience for their daily experiences.

But it is not good enough to just have an interest in bricks and mortary – or even be an estate agent – but rather to have something interesting to say. And although at first glance property would not appear to offer the razzle- dazzle of fashion, motorsport or celebrity, a growing army of bloggers is proving that there is plenty to say.

Let me give you an example. Primelocation caught up with an old friend who recently decided to invest in HMOs (or Houses of Multiple Occupation) in a south coast seaside resort. HMOs, to use a more tabloid description, are known as the ‘Rising Damp’ sector and are a profitable but often (literally) low-rent housing sector. It’s a tough, no-nonsense market in which rent often has to be extracted with large sticks and occasional carrots and Primelocaiton was amazed that this friend, a relatively genteel middle-aged, middle-class woman, would want to get involved. But she has, and so fruity is her professional life now (drug addicts, pregnant teenagers, absent fathers, alcoholics, fights and evictions) that it is about to spill out into a blog.

The range of blogs emerging from the digital woodwork was also reflected in the most recent Primelocation Property Blog Awards, the results of which were announced the week before last. Nearly 50 blogs were offered up for both public and judge-led scrutiny and some 1,500 votes piled in, followed by a Tweeting storm. The range of people blogging also widened – whereas it used to be a small community of enthusiasts and a small bevvy of keen estate agents both here and overseas, it now includes interior decorators both professional and amateur, several dozen agents big and large, national newspaper property journalists, keen amateurs, bemused home owners, professional and amateur home finders and many people who just love bricks and mortar.

There is one opportunity here. Where is the celebrity property blogger for property? Most of the big names in ‘homes’ don’t seem to have the time to write blogs and instead - as in the case of Kirsty Allsopp – restrict themselves to endless Twittering.

What do the Duke of Westminster, Kualar Lumpar and Liverpool have in common? The answer is Cesar Peli, one of the world’s leading architects famed for his designs for some of the world’s best-known skyscrapers including One Canada Square in London’s Docklands.

His most recent cloud-tickling structure is One Park West, a large apartment tower under construction in Liverpool’s Albert Docks retail and hotel quarter.

Grosvenor's One Park West development in Liverpool

The development is being masterminded by the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor property development firm and when completed the 17-storey building will include 326 apartments from studios to three bedroom units.

And although Peli is probably proud of his latest design, he may be put out that one of his more famous ones – Kualar Lumpar’s Petronas Towers – was yesterday overtaken as the world’s tallest structure by Dubai’s much-vaunted The Burj Khalifa tower – at 825 metres high.

But unlike the £1m-plus apartments for sale at the Dubai tower, properties at One Park West are more affordable starting at £90,000 for a studio and rising to £400,000 for the largest three-bedroom units.

This may account for its apparent success. Grosvenor claims to have sold apartments off-plan worth some £25 million and rented out most of the 123 apartment completed on the project so far – an admirable result given the current economic woes in the region and the UK as a whole.

Building ambitions in Liverpool: The Duke of Westminster

“Demand and new sales struggled during the first quarter of 2009, partly due to the availability of viable mortgage products and potential purchasers being nervous to take the plunge until they saw how the economic landscape was likely to pan out,” says Grosvenor’s Guy Butler.

“But in June we witnessed a change in the market, with an upturn in sales, which has resulted in an average of close to two sales a week since then.”

These figures mask an important point though – almost 70 per cent of sales on the development have been to landlords (rather than owner-occupiers), who have realised that One Park West is one of Liverpool’s few city-centre addresses ideal for upmarket professionals – rents being achieved range from £525 a month for a studio to £900 a month for the larger apartments.

Click here to find out more about the development and see pictures of the apartments.

With the current turmoil and uncertainty in the economy, some landlords and buy-to-let investors are having a hard time and wondering how to cope with the situation. If you feel in need of a bit of extra help and want to find out how you can protect yourself during the credit crunch, there are free events taking place this month that could help with answers.

The Money Centre, one of the UK’s largest independent buy-to-let mortgage brokers, is running several free Investors’ Days, incorporating seminars and exhibitions designed with landlords in mind. On Tuesday 25th November, a free event is taking place at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange, from 10am–3pm.

On Wednesday 26th November, they’re heading to Belfast and will be running another free event at the Park Avenue Hotel in Belfast. Both days include an exhibition, running from 10.30am–3pm, plus a seminar programme from 11.30am–2.15pm (with a free buffet lunch thrown in, too).

The events are aimed at both seasoned investors, new buy-to-let purchasers and even those who are considering doing so. Some of the topics on the menu for discussion include the current economic situation, successful planning during the credit crunch, top secrets to renting, hints and tips for the portfolio landlord and aims for the future.

The seminars are also designed to help you learn key skills for dealing with letting during the credit crunch period. In fact, the Money Centre says it’s not all bad news for investors as there are ways of benefiting from the opportunities created by the credit crunch. With networking opportunities included too, it’s a good chance for investors to get together and tackle their concerns and issues head on.

To find out more, or book a place at either event, call 01603 489 12.

For more advice for landlords, take a look at our dedicated Landlords, Developers & Investors guides.