The UK property market is not crashing – it’s proving rather resilient | Larry Elliott

House price falls have been modest given the post-lockdown price boom and interest rate spike but further falls seem likely

• Prices drop again as first-time buyers switch to smaller homes'

Britain has an unhealthy obsession with house prices, particularly during those relatively rare periods when they are falling rather than rising. So news that the cost of a home has fallen for four months in a row will inevitably lead to speculation about a property crash.

It isn't happening. Yes, it's August and there's not much news around, but even so the idea that a 2.4% annual fall in prices means the property market is in crisis is nonsense. Asset prices can go down as well as up, and a correction was always likely after the post-lockdown boom. That correction has been made inevitable by the sharp increase in mortgage rates over the past year.