Rents across England and Wales have reached the second highest level on record according to LSL Property Services.

The average rent in England and Wales increased by 0.7% in August 2013 from the month before to £743pm, on an annual basis it is now 1.3% higher than August 2012 and only £1 behind the all-time record high set in October 2012.

David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, said: “Better availability of finance has allowed some households to leave the rental market. And rents certainly felt the short-term impact of that. But releasing a blast of that pent-up pressure to buy a home is unlikely to change the long-term trend to renting. As hundreds of thousands of new households look for homes, it’s increasingly private renting that’s absorbed the pressure. Autumn brings the seasonal peak for the rental market, in part due to the spike caused by student renters, and the sheer volume of lettings activity shows demand this year is as strong as ever.”

New lettings also increased in August with the number of new tenancies across England and Wales rising by 8.8% compared to July and on an annual basis there were 13.7% more new tenants in August 2013 than in August 2012.

Eight out of ten regions saw higher rents in August with rents in the South East rising the fastest at 2%, while Welsh rents were 1% higher. The third fastest monthly rise was in the North West, with rents rising 0.9% compared to July. However in stark contrast rents in the North East fell by 0.8% in August, while the average rent in the East Midlands was 0.3% cheaper than the previous month.