House prices in surprise monthly fall

Ashley Webb of Capital Economics said: “The risk is that speculation over possible property tax rises in the autumn Budget, such as a mansion tax, hits buyer sentiment further in the coming months.”

Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “It’s clear that high interest rates and the faltering jobs market is holding back the recovery in housing demand and prices.”

Ashley Webb, UK economist at the consultancy Capital Economics, said the idea, which would raise around £2bn, “won’t go a long way” to bolstering the public finances, but “could further squeeze rental...