The run of nine consecutive monthly increases in house prices came to and end in February, as the price of a typical UK property fell by a seasonally adjusted 1.0% month-on-month.

The Nationwide Building Society, which published the data, possibly attributes the fall to the bad weather and/or the end of the stamp duty holiday.

The relatively smoother three month on three month rate of inflation remained positive at +1.6%, though this is down from +2.0% in January and a peak of +3.7% in September 2009. The annual rate of price inflation still managed to increase from 8.6% to 9.2% year-on-year, as this month’s fall was smaller than the 1.5% m/m decline recorded in February 2009.

The average price of a typical property sold in the UK during February was £161,320.

Britain’s largest mutual said it was too early to say whether February’s drop represents the start of a new trend.