Of those who plan to buy an additional property in the next year, 20% said that they think they will use their SSIA to fund the deposit on the property while 57% said they would borrow against another property. Sixty two per cent said it is likely that their property portfolio will increase over the next five years.

Of the 49% who claimed to have shopped around for their mortgage, 92% said that it was worth while to do this.

This supports feedback from first-time buyers in research conducted by EBS earlier this year.

The reasons for investing in property were largely consistent with previous years . . . 71% said it was to provide a pension for themselves and their partner, 51% said to build up a nest egg for their children and 24% said to receive a regular income through rents received. All answers indicate that investors are continuing to look at property as a mediumto long-term investment.

The research, conducted by Millward Brown IMS with 200 buy-to-let customers, revealed that 47% of respondents have one investment property (apart from their own home), 26% own two investment properties and the remaining 27% own three or more investments. And 27% of the property investors were under 35 years of age . . .

this compared to 21% in 2005.

Commenting on the findings, Declan Cassidy, managing director of Gunne Residential said: "It's interesting to see that the profile of buy-to-let investors is getting younger each year.

Despite the younger age profile, I welcome the fact that a lot of investors continue to view property as a good longterm investment with a significant number planning to use SSIA monies to help them continue to invest in the market. One in five of the respondents who said they will increase their property portfolio within the next year said they will use their SSIA to do so."

The research also revealed that for 41% of investors, Dublin is the location of their investment property, down from 52% in 2005 and from 85% in 2003. Thirty eight per cent bought in the rest of Leinster, up from 34% in 2005, 21% bought in Munster, down from 24% in 2005, 19% bought in Connacht / Ulster, up from 17% in 2005 and from 14% in 2003. Five per cent bought in the UK, up from 3% in 2005.

"The key point to note from this research, conducted at a time when interest rates are increasing, is that investors remain confident about the potential returns from their investments and plan to continue to invest in property, " said Dara Deering, head of mortgages with EBS.

"While rising interest rates is a concern for 52% of investors, the increase in rental income noted is likely to offset some of those increases over the past year.

"The three-bed semidetached house continues to be the property of choice for the majority of investors while issues of affordability seem to be encouraging investors away from Dublin purchases with the rest of Leinster, Connacht and Ulster coming through as the most popular regions for buyers."