AVERAGE rental prices across Wales have increased by 3.4 per cent from a year ago, new data has shown.

Data from the June HomeLet Rental Index revealed average rent in three months until June this year in Wales was £615 compared with the price of £595 for the same period last year.

Figures show the average rent from May to June in Wales has increased by 0.9 per cent in a month from £609 to £615.

The index shows rents agreed on new tenancies across the UK (excluding London) over the three months to the end of June were up by 3.5 per cent, compared to the same period in 2015.

In the capital, meanwhile, rents were 3.9 per cent higher.

Martin Totty, Barbon Insurance Group’s chief executive officer, said: 
“The June HomeLet Rental Index shows that the rental market remains resilient in the face of the various economic and political headwinds the sector has faced recently. Landlords are continuing to secure rental growth whilst there are some early signs of affordability criteria beginning to bear on the rates of rental price growth.”

He added: "The impact of the EU referendum vote will now play out over the months ahead: if, as expected, the result acts as a restraint on the supply of new housing, the gap between demand and supply in the private rental sector will remain marked; all the more so if more people decide to rent while waiting to see what happens to house prices."