Static house prices in August

The annual drop of 9.4% - up from a low of 16.3% in February - takes the average house price in England and Wales to £155,968.

The annual rate of decline is continuing to slow with an annual movement of -9.4 per cent. This is up from a low of approximately -16% experienced in February this year.

Property transactions averaged 41,911 sales per month in the months March to June 2009. In the same period a year earlier, the average was higher, at 60,997 sales per month.

London and the West Midlands experienced the greatest monthly price rise with a movement of 0.8%. The average property price in the capital is now £310,640.

All regions experienced a decrease in their average property values over the last 12 months. The region with the most significant annual price fall was the North West with a movement of -12.7%.

Hartlepool experienced the greatest annual price fall with a drop of 23.7%.

Although the most up-to-date figures available show that during June 2009 the number of completed house sales in England and Wales fell by 17% to 48,903 from 58,636 in June 2008, monthly sales in England and Wales have risen steadily during the first half of the year - up from 26,517 in January.