House price growth in July has been described as "subdued" by Nationwide, after the building society recorded 1.8% year-on-year growth.

The society’s latest house price index revealed that the average house price in the UK stood at £277,542 in July, marking a 0.1% monthly change.

This follows no month-on-month change in June.

Nationwide said that market activity and house prices have remained soft in recent months, “in part reflecting the uncertain economic backdrop”.

Chief economist at Nationwide, Robert Gardner, stated: "Geopolitical tensions remain high, with the conflict between Iran and the US again exerting upward pressure on energy prices and market interest rates in recent weeks. Financial market expectations for the future path of Bank Rate have been volatile, reflecting shifting views about the inflationary implications of events at home and abroad.

“Despite the ongoing risks from the latest energy price shock, the Monetary Policy Committee can take some comfort from the fact that consumer price inflation declined further in June. Signs that wage growth has continued to ease gives policymakers more breathing space to assess the extent to which tighter policy is necessary to ensure inflation returns to target.”

AJ Bell has described the latest house price increase as "sluggish", with geopolitical turmoil, slow economic growth and low consumer confidence, as well as the uncertainty around new political leadership are making the housing market feel "decidedly shaky".

Head of personal finance at AJ Bell, Sarah Coles, concluded: "Separate Rightmove figures show that the monthly figures for the time property remains on the market has risen to just over 68 days, and RICS data shows that buyer numbers remain low.

"Affordability is weighing on the market too. It’s one reason why there’s such a North/South divide, and why property prices in the expensive South East have been struggling so much.

"The fact that house prices are growing so much more slowly than wages means affordability is improving on one level – with the house price to earnings ratio below the 25-year average. It’s currently around 5.5 – compared to the post-pandemic boom when it was closer to seven. However, this does nothing to negate the fact that mortgage payments remain a huge challenge, especially now that rates have started to rise again."

---