The West Midlands is lagging behind most other regions in the returns buy-to-let properties are yielding landlords.

While Yorkshire and the North-west are bucking the seasonal slowdown in the rental property market, the region is last-but-one, ahead only of East Anglia, in the latest survey of returns by Paragon Mortgages, the Solihull-based specialist lender.

In the West Midlands, the average value of a buy-to-let property was £127,150 in July, 2.7 per cent up on last year.

That compares with a 38.62 increase to £143,684 in Yorkshire and a 27.03 per cent increase to £100,720 in the North.

Average rental income rose by 3.03 per cent in the West Midlands to £9,279 compared with a surge of 36.72 per cent in Yorkshire and a rise of 10.33 per cent in the North.

The Paragon survey also showed despite the large increase in property values, Yorkshire remains one of the highest-yielding regions at 7.3 per cent, the same as the West Midlands.

"A number of factors contribute to the sustained demand for rented accommodation in Yorkshire," said Paragon managing director John Heron.

"The burgeoning student population of England's largest county, with major universities at Sheffield, Hull, Leeds and York, among others, underpin demand.

" Many students remain after graduation and as 'first jobbers' look for shared accommodation with friends in the major towns."

The Yorkshire buytolet market has been further boosted by a net influx of jobs.

"When looking at the private rented sector, it's important to remember that landlords are running a business in which customer demand is key," said Mr Heron.

"If individuals, couples or families need homes in a particular area, landlords are likely to respond to meet that demand."

Commenting on the market overall, Mr Heron said: "Despite a cooler summer market, landlords remain cautious yet opportunistic buyers.

"September is a busy time in the rentals market with many people starting new jobs and, of course, the new academic year starting in universities and colleges up and down the country.

"We've continued to see a reasonable flow of property investment in many parts of the country as landlords look to purchase suitable properties in advance to meet identified demand.

"Overall returns have now reached 22 per cent, up from 21 per cent last month and a low of 18 per cent in April this year.

"Landlords across the majority of the country are seeing steady increases in rental incomes.

"Prices paid by residential property investors are still growing, but at a much slower rate than was seen during the heady days of mid-2004 when investors had to compete with owneroccupiers in a busy market with limited stock available.

"The recent cut in interest rates should encourage landlords to expand to their portfolios as there are still good deals to be negotiated while the owneroccupier market remains relatively slow."