UK house prices drop for fourth month running, as Halifax predicts ‘gradual decline’ – as it happened

Average house price fell by -0.3% in July, and is 2.4% lower than a year ago, but Halifax doesn't expect precipitous decline' in coming months

• Full story: UK house prices drop again as Halifax says first-time buyers are switching to smaller homes

Former UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has revealed he is among those suffering from the jump in mortgage costs since his mini-budget last autumn, as he has a tracker mortgage

In an interview with GB News last weekend, the former chancellor was asked whether he felt any sympathy for those affected by the rise in mortgage rates, before letting on that he was among them.

I'm probably revealing too much, but I'm on a tracker as well.

My bills have gone up considerably."

Inflation is still key to the direction of mortgage rates. Fixed mortgage rates dipped following the lower-than-expected fall in inflation in June before creeping higher ahead of the Bank of England's latest interest rate hike. Inflation is expected to ease significantly in the coming months, led by a fall in energy costs - which could pull down mortgage rates in the process.

Put simply, if inflation starts to move meaningfully lower, this takes the pressure off the Bank of England to continue raising interest rates, so mortgage rates could follow.