Annual house prices in England and Wales fell by 8 per cent in September to prices last seen in autumn 2006, according to the latest figures from Land Registry.

The average house price in England and Wales is now £168,814 which is also a decrease month-on-month of 2.2 per cent.

London also experienced a decrease in its average property value over the last 12 months, with a movement of -1.5 per cent, taking the average London house price to £328,927.

Hartlepool again experienced the highest annual change with an increase of 4.7 per cent, taking its average property price to £115,018.

The most up-to-date figures available show that during July 2008 the number of completed house sales fell by 57 per cent to 49,784 from 116,751 in July 2007.