North East based sales and lettings company KIS has published its latest analysis that shows average rents in the region have risen above £600 for the first time ever, taking the average rental yield to a record 4.6%.

The results also showed that a summer slump for North East values dropped by an average of 2.3% a month throughout July and August.

The fall all-but wipes out the post-Brexit surge of 4.8% recorded in June with the average North East house now valued at £157,438. House values fell in every single one of the twenty areas surveyed, with the exception of Whitburn, which saw prices rise by 0.05%.

The areas that suffered the sharpest decline were Durham City (4.2%), Houghton-le-Spring (3.7%) and Darlington (3.5%).

The regional house prices fall contrasts the 5.2% rise recorded in the same period last year, when prices increased by 3.8% in July and 1.8% in August. In the North East, the average price of a property is currently 3.8% lower than the rate recorded at the conclusion of August last year.

Durham’s 8.3% price fall over the course of the summer saw the city named as this month’s “Best to Buy,” as properties in the city had previously boasted an 11.5% capital appreciation over the last two years.

Over the course of the summer, the average rental cost in the North East continued to increase by £10 per calendar month, reaching £610 pcm. This is the first time it has exceeded £600, while rents have increased by 7.4% from the £565 recorded last month, which is a £45 rise a month.

Blyth (£397) remains the cheapest place to rent in the North East out of the areas surveyed, with Tynemouth (£1125) continuing to be the most expensive.

Peterlee continues to be the region’s Buy to Let capital, offering rental yields of 6.1% to investors. Other strong performers continue to be Gateshead and Killingworth (5.9%) and Sunderland (5.3%).