HOUSE prices rose by 1.1 per cent in June, reversing the previous three months’ decline.

The annual house price growth rose to 3.1 per cent with the gap in house price growth between the strongest and weakest performing regions in Q2, the smallest on record.

Describing the picture across different parts of the country, Mr Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide Building Society said: “There has been a shift in regional house price trends. Price growth in the South of England has moderated, converging with the rates prevailing in the rest of the country.

“In Q2 the gap between the strongest performing region (East Anglia, which saw five per cent annual growth) and the weakest (the North, with one per cent growth) was the smallest on record, based on data going back to 1974. Nevertheless, when viewed in levels, the price gap between regions remains extremely wide.

“London saw a particularly marked slowdown, with annual price growth moderating to just 1.2 per cent - the second slowest pace of the 13 UK regions and the weakest pace of growth in the capital since 2012.”

He went on to say that housing trends would depend greatly on developments in the wider economy, particularly given the uncertainty around the UK’s future trading arrangements.

“Given the ongoing uncertainties around the UK’s future trading arrangements, the economic outlook remains unusually uncertain, and housing market trends will depend crucially on developments in the wider economy,” he said.“Nevertheless In our view, household spending is likely to slow in the quarters ahead, along with the wider economy, as rising inflation squeezes household budgets.”