First house price fall in four months

House prices dipped by 0.1 per cent during August, the first monthly fall for four months, figures showed today.

The drop, which followed a strong 1.8 per cent rise in July, left the average home in England and Wales costing £155,968, according to the Land Registry.

But the annual rate at which prices are falling continued to slow, easing to 9.4 per cent, the lowest figure since September last year and down from a high of 16.3 per cent in February.