RENTAL properties in Wales have increased in cost by over six per cent over the past year, according to a property rental firm.

The average price of a rental property in Wales has gone up by 6.4 per cent to £660 per month, according to property website Zoopla.

But Zoopla say that it’s not a story of rapidly declining affordability. The Office for National Statistics recently reported that average earnings for those in employment are rising faster than rents, with an 8.8 per cent rise in total pay year on year in June.

This comes against a national picture across the UK of demand for rental properties in cities exceeding supply and rentals going up there too. UK rents outside London are said to be rising at their highest rate for over a decade, at a rate of five per cent year on year.

Average rents for the UK excluding London are said to be £790 per month, which is up from £752 last year, meaning renters are paying an average of £456 more this year.

The figures come from Zoopla Property Group's latest quarterly rental report, which also reveals that rental properties are being snapped up, on average, within 15 days of going on the market.

Rental demand will remain higher than usual in the coming months, in line with seasonal trends, and the lower levels of stock will support stronger rental growth through the rest of the year.

Gráinne Gilmore, head of research at Zoopla, said: “The rental data illustrates how city life is resuming - with a sharp increase in demand in central cities.

“The strong levels of rental demand seen across the UK during August will moderate in line with seasonal trends, but overall demand for rental property is likely to remain higher than usual in the coming months, amid this swing back to city life.

“As ever, much will be dependent on the extent to which the current rules around COVID continue as they are. But given no deviation from the current landscape, the demand for rental property, coupled with lower levels of supply, will continue to put upward pressure on rents. In London, this will translate into rental growth returning to positive territory late 2021 or early 2022.”