A leading letting agent has released figures this week showing that the average rent paid by private tenants rose by 0.7% in June. Strong demand for rented properties has pushed private sector rents to an average of £701 a month across England and Wales.

Over the past year, rents have now gone up by 4.1%, the equivalent of an extra £28 a month and there is no sign of a let-up in demand from tenants.

Tenant demand continues to reach ever higher peaks - and there simply isn’t enough rental property coming onto the market to match it. In areas like London where competition for rental property is most intense, it’s not unheard of for rental properties to be let within a day of coming on to the market.

Rents fell between 2008 and 2009 before starting to rise strongly again last year as the economy pulled out of recession. With rents rising so quickly, many landlords are being less lenient with tenants showing signs of payment difficulties.

Earlier this week the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) said there had been a continued rise in the number of people looking for homes to rent. It said 74% of its members had more prospective tenants on their books than homes available to let to them.

This demand is being driven by two factors. The first is that potential home buyers are being diverted to the rental market by a lack of new homes being built. Just 103,000 new homes were built last year with the UK’s population growing strongly.

The second is that many first-time buyers are finding it difficult or impossible to raise the deposit for a mortgage.

Rents are highest in London where they have gone up by 6.9% in the past year to an average of £1,006 a month.

Meanwhile, figures also show that last month tenants’ arrears fell from 11.5% of all rents due to 9.3%. This amounts to £257m across the UK.

This improvement has been exaggerated by a change in behaviour from many landlords. With rents rising so quickly, many landlords are being less forbearing with tenants showing signs of payment difficulties, and are looking to replace them in expectation of higher rental income.

The Halifax released an analysis of the UK housing market this week that showed house prices rose slightly in June, although the difficult conditions look set to persist in the medium term.

The Halifax, which is now part of Lloyds Banking Group, said that low pay rises, higher taxes and inflation were all constraining demand from buyers but low interest rates had maintained housing market stability.

The average home rose in price by 1.2% in June compared with May, but was 3.5% cheaper than a year earlier. The average house cost £163,049.

The annual change is based on average prices during the three months to the end of June, compared with the same three-month period of the previous year. When comparing prices in the three months to the end of June with the previous three months, there was a fall of 0.5% - the smallest quarterly drop since the second quarter of last year.

Low interest rates, an increase in the number of people in employment and some tightening in market conditions earlier in the year are likely to have been the main factors behind the recent improvement in price trends.

Typical mortgage payments for a new borrower have fallen from a peak of 48% of average disposable earnings in mid-2007 to 28% in the second quarter of 2011, the figures show.

The data and analysis, based on Halifax’s own lending, is broadly similar to that of the Nationwide Building Society. A week ago, the Nationwide said that the property market had “moved sideways” in the last six months.

Its figures showed that the value of the typical home was the same in June as in the previous month, but 1.1% lower than in June 2010.

The Land Registry, which produces relatively comprehensive figures that lag behind other surveys, said that prices in England and Wales dropped by 0.4% in May, to push them 2.2% lower than a year earlier. However, it said that prices in London were, as ever, bucking the trend.

This spate of figures and analysis has produced two notable metaphors for the UK housing market in its current condition. If you prefer nautical allusions then the market is facing a ‘stiff headwind’. On the other hand a more abstract description is that it is ‘moving sideways’.  You can pay your money and make your choice.