"Only six of the 12 UK regions saw house prices rise in the three months to June, with prices falling in five regions and stagnating in London."
House prices increased by 1.8% during Q2 and 8.5% compared to the same period a year earlier - the lowest recorded since Q3 2015.
However the index shows that "considerable regional variations in terms of both house price inflation and standard house price levels" continued into the second quarter of 2016.
London, followed by the South East, remain by far the most expensive areas to purchase housing, with the average house price in the capital currently pushing close to £450,000.
With London prices now close to four times the average price paid in the area of the UK with the lowest house value – currently Northern Ireland at £119,000 – the gap between the most expensive and cheapest regions is at a new record of just under £330,000.
London prices remained static in Q2, following a 7.2% rise in the previous quarter, though remained well up on a year earlier (14.6%). Along with the South East (13.9%), house price inflation in London was the strongest seen in the UK.
Outside of these two regions, no others recorded double-digit house price rises with most registering "considerable slowdowns" compared to the previous quarter.
Scotland (-1.6%) and Wales (-0.6%) both saw modest year-on-year falls in house prices, while the rate of inflation in Northern Ireland fell sharply to just 3.5%.
House prices in Northern Ireland are still 48% down on their peak seen in Q2 2007. Wales remains close to 10% down on pre-financial crisis levels with Scottish prices remaining 6.4% lower.
Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit, said: “Only six of the 12 UK regions saw house prices rise in the three months to June, with prices falling in five regions and stagnating in London.
“This is the first time that prices have failed to rise in London since late 2012. The second quarter stagnation still left house prices in the capital some 14.6% higher than a year ago, the highest annual rate of increase of all UK regions, but that’s down from 21.2% in the first three months of the year.
“Some of the heat therefore seems to have come off the housing market. However, the extent to which this is a reflection of Brexit worries or the increase in stamp duty in the Budget remains uncertain."
