The average price of property coming to the sales market dropped by 1.3% this month (-£4,795) to £365,173, according to Rightmove. 

This is the first price fall of the year, though traditionally prices do fall in August, and this drop is on a par with the average of 1.3% in August over the last 10 years, the firm said. 

Tim Bannister at Rightmove said: “As the school holidays arrive, distracted home-movers, especially those in higher-priced homes, appear to be putting their plans on hold until the autumn moving season. Some of the more urgent sellers who are coming to market are pricing more competitively in order to capture the attention of a suitable buyer quickly and attempt to beat the average time of 136 days to complete a sale and move before Christmas. 

“This month also marks 20 years since the first Rightmove House Price Index was published. It is the largest and most up-to-date monthly sample of residential property prices, and since it began national average asking prices have more than doubled (+134%) from £155,994 to £365,173. Average salaries have grown by 76% and the Retail Price Index has increased by 93% in the same period, so house prices have been outstripping both salaries and general inflation over those 20 years.”