The increase of London property prices slowed down in July according to new figures just out.
Prices did grow during the month, but at their slowest rate since June 2006.
The Land registry has just released its monthly figures.
They show house prices grew by 0.1 per cent during the month, across England and Wales.
The average price of a London property is now £342,936, compared to an average house price of £181,460 elsewhere in England and Wales.
This makes the annual price increase 8.8 per cent. And the high price is pushing many people to look into
London property rental.
But some experts believe property price growth will pick up again, and expect prices to increase by 15.5 per cent annually.
The highest monthly change in prices was seen in the south east of England. Prices there went up by an average of 1.1 per cent in July.
Some parts of the UK actually saw price falls. Prices in the West Midlands went down by 1.4 per cent, Wales fell by 0.4 per cent, and Yorkshire by 0.6 per cent.
The cheapest houses can still be found in the North East. The average house there now costs £129,455 – that's more than £200,000 less than the average London property.
The results in July broadly match expectations set out by the Nationwide building society. Its research shows that growth is slowing for three reasons.
It believes there is weak affordability – house prices have continued to grow faster than earnings, pushing homes out of reach for many. This is considered especially so for London property.
It also says the higher interest rates has pushed up the cost of mortgages and has been compounded by inflationary pressure.
And finally the Nationwide says there are lower property price expectations.
The building society's chief economist Fionnuala Earley said: "The US sub-prime crisis has created turmoil in international financial markets, but this is unlikely to have a significant additional effect on the rate of growth of house prices in the UK in the short term.
"While it has taken some time for these factors to bite, there are now clear signs of slower demand in the market reflected in the collapse in new buyer enquiries."
Experts are now eagerly awaiting the release of the August figures in the next few weeks, to see the effect that has on homes around the UK, especially expensive London property.
