House prices rose by 0.3% this month, Nationwide reported.

However, the lender also reported that August’s house prices went down – not that the press seemed to notice.

The dip was slight, from £195,621 in July to £195,279 in August.

It is, surely, yet another argument for kicking seasonal adjustment into the long grass.

It is absurd for any economist to say that prices went up, when in fact they went down.

Nationwide’s average price – based on mortgage data – compares with estate agent haart’s figure of £217,072.

This morning, haart said this was the average price in its branches during July, with buyer demand up 5.3% over the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Land Registry is also due to report today on average prices across England and Wales.