Annual house price growth in August rose to 11.0% from 10.5% in July with the average property now costing £248,857, according to Nationwide’s latest house price index.

Almost £730 billion of equity is available in British homes – a record figure.

The cost of the average UK city home has now reached 8.1 times average earnings for those living in cities, up from 5.6 times in 2011, according to data from Halifax.

Potential sellers are wary of putting their properties on the market without somewhere to move to because of a lack of available stock – compounding the issue.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has unanimously voted to keep the bank rate at 0.10%.

July saw average void periods drop across almost every region in England, reaching the lowest level since August 2019, according to the latest rental index from Goodlord.

Average house prices are up 30% since the market peak in 2007 as successive lockdowns prompt buyers to search for more space.

The challenges posed by Covid-19 has left few markets with much to celebrate over the past 18 months. Naturally, countries everywhere have seen vast recessions which have halted short-term investment and placed under severe doubt long-term growth plans.