Some of the best places in the UK for landlords to invest have been pointed out in a new countdown.

Times Money has compiled a top ten buy-to-let hotspots list, with the assistance of PropertyEarth.net.

The newspaper noted that there is a wide geographical spread in the rundown, with various parts of Britain offering bargains to shrewd landlords.

The buy-to-let market is being seriously considered as an excellent investment option by many professionals in the finance sector, a new survey has claimed.

According to research from PropertyEarth.net, more than one third of finance professionals would consider becoming a landlord.

The English countryside is proving to be a hotbed of recovery in the property market.

Landlords who have purchased property in rural areas near London could see good returns on their investments, the Residential Landlord's Association (RLA) has indicated.

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5 per cent, as expected, for a fourth successive month.

The Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) is expected to keep the current rate, in place since March until at least 2010.

Positive economic data filtering through in recent weeks could see the time that interest rates are raised against brought forward, however.

The sharpest monthly increase in UK house prices in seven years was felt last month, the Halifax has said.

In its monthly index the building society revealed a 2.6 per cent jump in prices in May, which cut the annual drop in prices to 16.3 per cent.