Now may be the time to add to your buy-to-let portfolio

According to the Housing Minister and other industry insiders, there may be an upturn in the housing market as early as spring 2009, making now a good time to buy new buy-to-let property.

Beckett has warned first-time buyers to buy now to avoid the mad rush once the upturn begins. The advice is similar for buy-to-let landlords who can still make the most of the lower house prices to add to their portfolios before prices start rising again.

House prices have fallen by between 20% and 25% and many analysts believe they will bottom out at around the 30% point, meaning the upturn could be closer than initially thought. This point of view has been echoed in a recent interview with Margaret Beckett, with the Sunday Times, in which she stated that she was aware of, "indications of certainly a maintenance of customer interest, possibly even a bit of a pick-up".

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has also indicated that an upturn could be on the cards, as the number of inquiries from new buyers increased for the second month in a row in December. This increase in new buyer interest is being boosted by lower prices and, of course, lower interest rates.