Monthly prices rose modestly in August, according to the latest house price index from LSL Property Services and Acadata.

Prices were up just 0.1%, but the report said this was enough to put an end to consistent falls seen every month since March.

Regional variances are still very evident. Annual price increases, by contrast, remain steady, holding at 1.8% for the third month in a row. That’s up from a 1.7% annual increase in May, but a fall from 3.8% in January and 4.5% last August.

The 1.8% increase is significantly below inflation of 2.3% (CPI), meaning real-terms falls. However, every region continues to show nominal increases in annual prices.

The average home in England and Wales is now worth £303,199, up £5,300 on the previous year.

London posted an annual price increase of 3.6% in July. The West Midlands, East Midlands and North East also all continue to record rises above inflation. The South East, where growth is weakest, nevertheless saw its annual growth increase in July, bucking the trend nation-wide.

The market is broadly flat across regions, and transactions are low – down 0.1% in August compared to July with an estimated 79,900 completed. Annually they are estimated to be down 4% on the same period in 2017, and at their lowest in five years.

Oliver Blake, managing director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, said: “The slower market should help ease the affordability challenge faced by many buyers. Even in London, where an average increase was recorded over the month, homes in most boroughs are significantly cheaper in real terms than they were this time last year.”