Property transactions fell across all parts of the UK, the latest official figures on sales volumes show.

Meanwhile, mortgage lending by high street banks for house purchase has also fallen, measured on a monthly basis.

According to the ONS/Land Registry, transactions in July decreased by 15.2% when compared with a year ago.

Compared with the previous month, the number of property transactions completed in the UK in July decreased by 8.6%.

The biggest drop was in England where sales fell 17.1% to 64,592, while Northern Ireland was down 8.6% to 5,453.

Activity in Wales declined 11.3% to 3,599 and in Scotland sale volumes fell 5.7% to 8,725.

The drop was most pronounced in London, with sales falling by 32% annually in July to 6,639, while the east of England saw a 20% drop to 7,636.

The smallest fall among English regions was in the Yorkshire & Humberside region, down 11% to 6,624.

The transaction figures are, however, historic: while covering July, they would date back to deals done months earlier.

The latest ONS statistics also show that annual house price inflation increased by 0.6% in September to 5.4%, with average UK values at £226,367. This was up just 0.4% on a monthly basis.

The data also shows that the north-west topped the tables for price growth in September, up 7.3% annually to £160,951, while London lagged behind the rest of the regions with the lowest annual rate of growth at 2.5%.

Average prices in the capital were £483,568, down 0.2% on a monthly basis.

In a separate set of figures, the mortgage market slumped for first-time buyers, movers and buy-to-let landlords during September.

Data from trade body UK Finance shows that mortgages to home movers fell 17% between August and September to 32,200 loans, but were up 3% annually.

Loan approvals to first-time buyers fell 10% during September to 31,100, up just 1% year-on-year, while lending to landlords was down 8% on a monthly basis but up 4% annually to 18,900.