Annual house prices continued to drop in July according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index.

House prices fell 0.2% month on month in July, pushing the annual rate of house price growth further into negative to -3.8%, down from -3.5% in June. 

The price of a typical home is now 4.5% below the August 2022 peak and buying activity is around 20% lower than it was in 2019. 

“This was the weakest outturn since July 2009, although it is only modestly lower than the -3.5% recorded last month,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist.