The latest figures on buy-to let mortgages from the Council of Mortgages Lenders do provide some comfort for house builders tackling an increasingly tough market.

There were fears that buy-to-let borrowing would collapse with the first whiff of a slowdown in house prices, but the figures suggest otherwise. The figures suggest buy-to-let is holding up better than mortgage lending to homebuyers (see graph Buy to let and home loans ).

Buy-to-let lenders appear to be buoyed by a strengthening rental market as the latest RICS Lettings Survey shows.

The question is how sustainable this market will be given that the consensus on house prices has slipped more recently from flat over the year to a fall of between 5% and 10%.