Commentary by Ruban Selvanayagam

• According to the latest UK House Price Index, average house prices saw an annual price rise of 1.3% (to August 2019);
• The latest Hometrack UK Cities House Price Index reported that Leicester saw the greatest year-on-year house price growth at 4.5%.  This was followed by Manchester (4.4%), Liverpool (4.3%), Belfast (3.7%), Edinburgh (3.7%), Cardiff (3.6%), Birmingham (3.6%);
• The most recent Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) report stated that new estate agency instructions slipped to their weakest point in three years; buyer enquiries fell back into negative territory and, nonetheless, prices are still expected to rise at the national level over the coming twelve months.