British house prices edged ahead by 0.2% during August as activity in the property market remained subdued, figures showed today.
The latest increase follows one of 0.7% in July and reverses most of the falls seen during the previous three months, leaving house prices at a similar level to the end of last year, Halifax said.
The group said activity in the market had been "largely static" since the start of 2010, enabling house price inflation to cool, after prices were pushed up during 2009 by a shortage of supply.
It added that it expected house prices to end the year at around the same level they started it.