House prices fell slightly in August but confirmed the stabilising trend of recent months after the rapid declines seen throughout last year and earlier this year, according to data from the Land Registry.

House prices fell by 0.1% to an average of just under £156,000, the first fall since April and a small slip following a 1.8% rise in July, which was the biggest one-month jump since 2004, the Registry reported.

The biggest house price declines were in the north-west, which saw prices drop by 2.1%, and Yorkshire and Humber, where they fell by 1.8%, more than wiping out gains in the previous month.

'The fall in house prices in August, albeit marginal, supports our belief that the recent run of more positive news from the housing market will prove to be a false dawn,' said Seema Shah of Capital Economics.

Financial Times

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