The housing market is becoming more diverse, with prices in different regions behaving dramatically differently and posing questions about the relevance of national indices, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has suggested.
In its latest monthly survey, the institution found that prices in August had risen strongly in Scotland and Northern Ireland but had fallen sharply in London and the southeast.
The analysis comes after data from the Nationwide Building Society showed that house prices had slipped by 0.5% across Britain in August, the steepest month-on-month drop since July 2012. However, the aggregate figures mask very different developments around the country.
