Ashley Webb, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said the figures showed that the “leap in mortgage rates” since the start of the Iran war had dented the market, underlining the weakness that had started to show in other house price data.
“With prices also falling on both the alternative Halifax [index] and official ONS measures in recent months, it’s clear that the jump in mortgage rates is hurting the housing market,” he said, adding that prices were more likely to weaken than strengthen over coming months.