A third of UK adults aspire to own a buy-to-let (BTL) property, despite looming changes in legislation, a new study has found.

Market Financial Solutions commissioned market research agency Opinium to survey a nationally-representative group of 2,000 UK adults. It found that one in three – 33% – want to own a BTL property in the future.

Interestingly, this figure to rises to more than half – 54% – among respondents aged 18-34, and dips to 14% among those aged 55-plus.

More generally, 60% believe property investment is an effective means of building long-term wealth, with 37% saying they would rather invest in a BTL property than stocks and shares. Just over half (53%) agreed with the statement that “real estate is a safe and stable asset to invest in”.

Market Financial Solutions’ study also showed that, if they were to win £1 million in the lottery, almost three-fifths (58%) would use some or all of it to buy property. This was particularly true of UK adults aged 18-34, with the figure rising to 68% among this younger demographic.

However, of those aged 18-34, the majority (57%) said they resent the fact it is much harder to invest in BTL properties today than it was for previous generations due to the rise in house prices.

Paresh Raja, CEO of Market Financial Solutions, commented: “It has become popular over the past decade to bash buy-to-let investing as being increasingly unappealing. Clearly, however, that is far from the case.

“The rise in house prices and borrowing costs, coupled with tighter rules and regulation in the rental market, has undoubtedly caused challenges for both current and prospective landlords. I am sure this will have given some people reason to question whether BTL ownership is the right route for them, but these survey results underline the love affair that the UK has with bricks and mortar.

“Many people aspire to homeownership and property investment. The stability of the market, along with the opportunity for the value of the asset to rise in the longer-term alongside a rental income, all contribute to this. Indeed, if BTL mortgage rates do come down in the coming months as expected, we may well see more first-time landlords entering the market.”