The rental market in England and Wales has enjoyed a ‘robust’ start to 2018, thanks to shifting patterns of demand from consumers.

That’s according to the latest figures from agent Your Move, which has registered falls in average monthly rent in London and the north-east, but increases elsewhere, including strong rises in the east of England.

The agent’s latest figures for England and Wales, replacing its buy-to-let-index, showed that the average monthly rent ended last year at £850 in December, an increase of 2.3% annually.

The east of England led the way with the average monthly rent increasing by 3.3% in 12 months to reach £893.

It is now the second most expensive place to rent behind London, which despite the most expensive rents at £1,274 a month, saw falls of 1.4% over the year.

The north east was the cheapest area to rent in the UK last year, with the average monthly rent down 1.7% to £534.

Martyn Alderton, national lettings director for Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “The rental market in England and Wales ended 2017 on a positive note for landlords, with rents, overall, up 2.3% compared to a year ago, and average yields across the country now at 4.4%.

“However, behind these figures lie fluctuations particularly in relation to the fall in average rents in London and strong growth in average rents in other regions.”

“In many ways, the rebalancing of the rental market across the country should be seen as a good thing as demand spreads to other areas and keeps the market robust.

“London still remains one of the most popular and expensive places to rent, yet we are now seeing strong growth in demand for rental properties in the regions around the capital.”