British house prices slow in September

House price inflation in Britain slowed again in September to its weakest since early last year, official figures showed today…

House price inflation in Britain slowed again in September to its weakest since early last year, official figures showed today.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (OPM) said house prices rose by a non-seasonally adjusted 10.9 per cent in the year to September, down from 14 per cent the month before and the lowest since February last year, when the ODPM only calculated quarterly numbers.

The average home cost £158,408 sterling in September, down from £159,010 in August. The latest figures provide further evidence that Britain's long-running housing boom has come to an end. Prices were rising at an annual rate of more than 20 per cent back in April.

The Bank of England last week raised interest rates for the first time in nearly four years, citing impatience that the housing market had not slowed as much as it had hoped.

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Pundits say the quarter-point rise, which took rates to 3.75 per cent, would not be enough on its own to choke off house price inflation but economists expect more rises in the next year.