According to the Nationwide building society, house price inflation in the UK continued to ease off in July. The latest monthly survey shows that prices fell by 0.5% in July, taking the annual rate of house price inflation down from 8.7% to 6.6%.  Price rises were easing off as more homes were being put up for sale.

"A combination of restrictive credit conditions and uncertainty about the future economic outlook continues to limit the pool of buyers to those with relatively large financial resources," said the society's chief economist Martin Gahbauer.