Average house prices across England and Wales dipped in February by 0.2% from the previous month to stand at £190,275.

The figure left annual house price inflation at 6.1%, according to the Land Registry.

The average house price in London was up 0.6% on a monthly basis and up 13.5% annually, to stand at £530,368.

The number of property sales fell year-on-year.

Between September and December last year, there was an average of 78,778 sales per month, down from 79,237 per month for the same period in 2014.

In December itself, there were 73,326 transactions, down 6% from 78,208 in December the year before.

Across London, in December there were 8,334 transactions, down 12% annually from 9,418 sales in December the previous year.

Strikingly, sales of properties costing from £100,000 to £250,000 were decimated, down by over half. In the £200,000 to £250,000 bracket, transactions plummeted 60%.

In the £500,001 to £600,000 bracket, sales were also badly hit, down by 31%.

Meanwhile, in a briefing yesterday, the Office for National Statistics confirmed that a new official house price index is to be launched in June.

It will replace both the Land Registry index and the existing ONS index, which cause confusion by being at complete odds with each other.

It has been a long time coming, after first being announced in 2010.

* According to the first-time buyer tracker released today by Your Move and Reeds Rains, there were 21,100 sales to first-time buyers across the UK in February, up 7% annually.