The supply of new properties coming on to the rental market has fallen across the UK for the the third quarter in the West Midlands

The increase in supply has brought to an end the downward trend in rents that has been in place since the autumn of 2008, according to the latest RICS Lettings Survey.

The national net balance of chartered surveyors reporting rising rather than falling rents in the three months to January 2010 was zero. This follows five quarters of negative readings across the UK, and is in marked contrast to April last year when 58 percent more chartered surveyors were reporting falling rents, an all-time low for the survey.

In the West Midlands the findings remained in negative territory with one percent more surveyors reporting a fall rather than a rise but there has been a 12 percentage point improvement from the previous quarter.

RICS West Midlands spokesperson Richard Franklin from Franklin Property Consultancy, said: “Increased activity in the sales market is having the inevitable effect on the rental market: increasing house sales over the past few months have reduced the rental pool, with many members reporting lower stock levels. The accidental landlords are leaving the sector as sales trickle through. The recent expansion of the number of mortgage products available is doing little to encourage first time buyers who are a rare species. Thus in most instances they languish in the private rented sector biding their time, resulting in more applicants chasing the reduced supply and forcing rents higher in due course.”