The number of landlords looking to buy residential property for investment purposes has nearly doubled, according to buy-to-let lender Paragon Mortgages.

Paragon’s Trends research, a quarterly panel survey of landlords, shows that 21% of landlords plan to purchase property during the third quarter of the year, up from 11% who said they planned to purchase during the first quarter and 12% who planned to purchase in the second.

Terraced housing topped the popularity list of those looking to buy, with 74% of landlords stating that they intended to purchase this type of property, followed by semi-detached housing, flats and detached property.

However, mortgage finance remains a major obstacle. Four out of 10 landlords said that they attempted to secure buy-to-let finance for purchase or remortgage purposes during the second quarter. Of those that did, 52% said that it was more difficult than previous attempts to secure finance, with just 13% stating that it was easier. The remaining 35% said they noticed no difference in the availability of finance.

The Trends research showed that a wider availability of mortgage finance was the main factor that would encourage a landlord to expand their portfolio. 46% said wider mortgage finance would encourage them to expand their portfolios, followed by better tax incentives (43%) and sustained levels of tenant demand (42%).

Less important factors were greater levels of Government support (26%) and property supply (14%).

John Heron , Paragon Mortgages’ managing director, said: “There has been a significant jump in the percentage of landlords looking to purchase property