Average house prices in England and Wales increased by 0.3% in December and are now just 0.6% higher than the same month in 2017, according to the latest Your Move index.

The firm says that December saw the lowest annual growth for seven years, taking the average price of a home to £306,647 and sales also fell, down by 2.4% year on year.

Overall the market continues to be flat, the report states, but regional and local variations are becoming increasingly marked. Annual growth in the North West and East and West Midlands is outpacing inflation, while the South East, the East and Greater London are all struggling to maintain growth at all.

The strongest annual price growth was in Wales and the East Midlands, both up by 3.6%, to an average of £188,052 and £217,901 respectively. Month on month prices increased by 0.8% in Wales but were unchanged in the East Midlands.

Prices increased by 3.3% annually in the West Midlands to £226,833 but fell by 0.2% month on month, while in the North West they increased by 2.7% year on year to £195,819 and increased by 0.8% month on month.