The first residential rental yield league table of 2012 from the specialist BTL lender Paragon shows that landlords in the North West are now achieving the highest average rental yield in the UK regions.

The latest survey shows a significant regional shift in the rental yields being achieved as the highest average yield were in the North West, generating a yield of 6.6% - an increase from the previous 5.9% recorded in Q4 2011.

The Northern regions dominated the top spots for yields, with North East landlords getting an average yield of 6.5% while in third place was the South West with a yield of 6.4% followed by the East of England with 6.3%.

Independent researchers, BDRC Continental conducted the survey amongst more than 500 landlords in the first quarter of 2012.

The overall average yield achieved by landlords in Q1 was 6.2%, which represents an increase on Q4 where the average yield was then 5.9%. However, those Paragon landlord customers who took part in the BDRC survey reported a higher than market average yield of 7.3%.

Commenting on the data, John Heron, Director of Paragon Mortgages, said: “The rental yield figure is important for landlords as it gives a good indication of how well a property, and in a wider sense, a portfolio is performing.

“We have seen another interesting shift in the regions taking the top spots, with a more distinct North/South divide in Q1 with the North outperforming their Southern counterparts.

“Tenant demand continues to grow and fluctuate in certain areas of the country, at different times. So I suspect we will continue to see movement in the yield table in the months to come.”