Housing transactions are at their lowest for five years.

A new report out this morning says that last month an estimated 79,900 transactions completed, down 4% on the same month last year, and the lowest since 2013.

The LSL/Acadata index puts the average house price at £303,199, up just 0.1% on July but putting to an end a series of falls since March.

The average annual rate of house price growth is 1.8%, which the report says means actual falls as it is lower than 2.3% inflation. The report describes the housing market as flat.

Prices have fallen in 21 out of 33 London boroughs this year, but in the midlands and north-east house prices grew as they did in certain pockets of the market.

In the south-west, Bournemouth house prices rose 6.4% annually in August; in west Berkshire, there was a 12.7% annual rise; and in Monmouthshire, prices soared 14% annually.

The biggest faller was Westminster, where prices have gone down almost 12% year on year.

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