TENANTS across Australia look set for a short-term reprieve from rising rental prices, with analysts expecting landlords to pass on the benefits of interest rate cuts. After a sustained period of rent increases, there are signs the market has peaked, with landlords in most cities either leaving rents unchanged or lowering prices to secure tenants. But the latest data from Australian Property Monitors warns that in the longer term, a lack of residential dwellings and continued strong demand for rental properties will most likely send prices up again. The APM figures, released yesterday, show most capital cities recorded unchanged rental values in the September quarter, compared with the June quarter. Rents for houses in Sydney and Hobart and units in Brisbane increased modestly. Darwin was the only big mover, with rental values for units 14 per cent higher than in the June quarter and houses up 7 per cent. In Perth, rents for units in the quarter fell sharply -- by 6 per cent -- from an average of $350 a week to $330. In Brisbane, where rents for houses remained flat, Ben Nilsen, a pharmacology student at the University of Queensland, is relieved the rental market is easing. He said that when he and five of his university mates were searching for a house to rent earlier in the year, supply was very tight. Even among six people, the $900 a week they were forced to settle on for their six-bedroom St Lucia house in the city's west was much higher than they had wanted to pay. "We were looking at all sorts of places not that close to uni, but while we're paying more than we'd like, at least we're only 10 minutes' walk to uni," he said. APM senior economist Liam O'Hara said the APM data provided evidence that Australia's rental market was easing. "The demand to raise rents for both houses and units has softened, which should provide some relief to renters," he said. "The recent reduction in interest rates means that pressure on landlords to offset their high mortgage costs has, in the short term, eased. "There may be further moderation in median asking rents for the remainder of the year as the possibility of a global recession feeds into the Australian economy." But he agreed that in the longer term, increased competition would most likely lead to higher rents. "The serious problems Australia faces with infrastructure investment, coupled with a slowing building sector, will maintain upward pressure on asking rents, particularly in regions where supply is tight," Mr O'Hara said. "In the past 12 months, Darwin rents have soared, with houses up 20 per cent and units up 18 per cent. Sydney, our most unaffordable capital, may be plateauing now, but that is cold comfort for renters whose costs have jumped by 13 per cent for houses and 11 per cent for units, since this time last year." The median weekly asking rent for houses in September ranged from $290 in Hobart to $480 in Darwin, with Sydney, Canberra and the Gold Coast also tipping the $400 mark. That was up on June for Sydney, Darwin and Hobart, but all other centres were steady, and Canberra prices actually fell 2 per cent over the quarter, although they were still 3 per cent higher than September 2007. The year-on-year increase for Darwin was double the average and hit 20 per cent. For units, rental prices ranged from $230 in Hobart to $400 in Sydney, with Darwin and Brisbane experiencing the biggest increase, but all other centres plateauing or falling on the quarter. The year-on-year increase ranged from 3 per cent in Canberra to 10per cent in Newcastle and Perth, 11 per cent in Sydney and Melbourne, and 18 per cent in Darwin.

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