House prices edging higher, Land Registry shows

UK house prices strengthened, according to official measures that suggested the Brexit vote has not had much effect on the housing market.

Calculated based on data from the Land Registry, house prices rose 8.4% in August, ahead of the 8% in July and the market's estimate for a slowing to 7.8%.

House prices rose 1.3% over the month, up from the 0.5% increase in July, which took the average property value in the UK to £218,964.

The Land Registry's monthly house price index climbed to 114.8, from 113.7 in July and from the January 2015 base of 100.

Looking at the regions, East of England houses enjoyed the greatest annual increase, up 13.3%; the South West saw the greatest monthly growth, up 2.3%; the North East saw the lowest annual price growth, up 3%; while the North East saw the only monthly price fall, down 0.2%.

Of interest to house builders and estate agents, house prices for new builds continued to rise faster than resold homes, with new builds increasing 13.6% monthly and 26.4% annually, while former owner occupier prices up 1.5% and 9.3% respectively.

With prices already high and economic growth set to be sluggish, a slowdown in 2017 is "still on the cards", said Capital Economics.

Howard Archer at IHS Markit said he believed house prices will be essentially flat over the final months of 2016 and he expects house prices "will dip modestly in 2017, possibly by around 3%".