Land Registry reveals house price decline

  House prices in England and Wales fell slightly in August, according to figures from the Land Registry.   The average house price dropped by 0.1% to £155,968.   This is a drop of 9.4% since August last year.   The Land Registry said prices in London rose by 0.8% in August, the fourth monthly increase in a row, meaning that house prices in the capital are now only 6% lower than they were a year ago.   Peter Rollings, managing director of estate agent Marsh & Parsons, said: “London house prices have risen consistently over the past few months and continue to outperform the rest of the UK.   “But house prices don’t tell the whole story and, much like in other parts of the country, transactions in the capital are still extremely low by historic standards.”   Seema Shah, property economist at Capital Economics, said: “The fall in house prices in August, albeit marginal, supports our belief that the recent run of more positive news from the housing market will prove to be a false dawn.   “While house prices may rise further in the short term, the weak economic backdrop and still tight credit conditions, as well as the fact that housing is still overvalued, mean that these rises will not be sustained.”   helen.roxburgh@egi.co.uk