MANY property investors were shocked by the last-minute backtracking by Gordon Brown and his decision not to allow residential property to contribute towards Self Invested Pension Plans (SIPPS).

However, this has had little affect on confidence in the buy-to-let sector and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) reports landlords are continuing to invest.

ARLA figures from the fourth quarter of last year show nearly two thirds of investor landlords intend to enlarge their portfolios this year.

ARLA's chief executive Adrian Turner said: "It is notable the upward trend began well before last month when the Chancellor killed off residential investment using SIPPS.

"It shows that buy-to-let remains highly regarded as a stand-alone investment."

The latest quarterly review by ARLA also shows only five per cent of buy-to-let landlords invest in residential property solely for rental income.

More than half are looking to reap reward from the rising values of their property, while the remainder are looking for a mixture of regular income and capital gain.

The report also revealed, landlords expect to hold on to their properties on average for 15 years and 89 per cent of landlords would not sell their investment properties if house prices fall.