The traditional north-south divide has been turned on its head as far as the £500,000-plus markets are concerned.

The midlands, north of England and Scotland have seen the strongest growth in values whereas London prices are down by 4%.

According to Savills, prices have also slipped in Cambridge, Bath, Winchester and Bristol.

The most expensive properties – £2m-plus – have lost most value.

In London, they are down 9.2% on five years ago, and in the London suburbs, down almost 17% on five years ago.

In other market news, asking rents in Greater London rose to an average of £2,000 per month in the second quarter of this year, making it the region with the highest annual rate of growth for the first time since the end of 2014.

According to Rightmove, the rise is fuelled by lack of supply.

Outside London, asking rents rose 2.7% to £796.

Time taken to let a property varies from 29 days in the south-west to 44 in the north-east.

Rightmove’s Miles Shipside said: “After a few years of more plentiful supply in the London market we’ve now reached a point again where competition among tenants for a great rental home can be very high.

“This reduced choice could be symptomatic of fewer landlords buying and some selling up as rental returns are being diminished by more onerous tax, and little or no growth in capital appreciation, along with increased demand from tenants.”