House prices rose 1.2% between June and July this year, according to the government’s official measure of UK prices, helping to push average annual inflation to its highest level for almost 20 years.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) said that annual house price inflation in the year to July was 15.5%, a jump from 7.8% in June, with the size of the increase largely a result of big falls in house prices registered in the month last year, in the wake of the partial closure of the temporary stamp duty exemptions introduced by former chancellor Rishi Sunak.

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