The Halifax said that prices edged down by 0.1% in July, which had the effect of cutting the annual rate of growth from 12.5% to 11.8%.

Though the fall was “only fractional”, it noted that a slowdown in annual house-price growth had been expected for some time.

And: “Leading indicators of the housing market have recently shown a softening of activity, while rising borrowing costs are adding to the squeeze on household budgets against a backdrop of exceptionally high house price-to-income ratios.”

Another fall, rather larger than 0.1%, was reported by Rightmove, the property portal.

Its August report recorded a 1.3% drop in the average price of properties coming to the market, which fell by £4,795 to £365,173.

Old hands will recall that summer falls in asking prices are by no means unusual and that August is a time when many potential buyers forget the market in favour of buckets and spades or pina coladas.

That is true, as Rightmove pointed out, though it also noted that this was the first fall in asking prices this year, a period which has seen several hikes in interest rates, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with its huge impact on energy prices, Boris Johnson deposed and taxes going up.

So is this the start of something bigger?

Can we expect a sustained fall in prices now under the impact of dire recession warnings, higher mortgage rates and prolonged economic uncertainty?

You can never say never on these things, and the Halifax was right to say that a slowdown in annual house-price growth has long been predicted, including by your columnist.

It is important, however, to read the small print with these things, and this case the small print is mainly reassuring.

The Halifax also pointed out that, while July’s small fall was the first in a year, the fundamentals of the housing market remained strong.

They included the hundreds of billions of “involuntary” or excess savings built up during the pandemic, investment demand and changes in the way people regards their homes as a result of the working from home revolution.

Halifax also pointed, quite rightly, to the shortage of homes coming to the market.

This is a point which was also emphasised by Rightmove, in its small print.

There was, it said, a “massive imbalance” between supply and demand.

Though buyer enquiries are down by 4% on 2021, when the market was red hot, they are 20% higher than in the “normal” year of 2019.

New listings, in contrast, are up by 12% on a year ago, but are 6% down on 2019.

Available stock at agents is 39% lower than it was in 2019.

One agent near me has an impressive array of properties in its window, but all are emblazoned with “sold” signs.

Another perspective on this was provided by RICS (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), in its latest residential market survey.

It reported a balance of -25% of surveyors reporting a drop in new buyer enquiries, in other words, significantly more reported a fall rather than a rise.

New listings were also down, though the negative balance was a more modest -5%.

Average stock per surveyor, at 36, was close to an all-time low.

12-month price expectations remained buoyant with a balance of 30% expecting a rise, though this was down from a recent high of 78%.

Adding all this up, what should we conclude?

Demand is softening in the market, but this is at present balanced by falling supply, leaving prices generally well supported.

That may change if the winter ahead proves to be as grim as some fear and if the Bank continues to raise interest rates, as it has indicated it will.

It still looks like a slowdown rather than a big correction, however.

By the end of the year annual house price growth should be comfortably down into single figures.

Expect a few predictions that the dam will break and that prices will fall significantly.

But don’t be at all surprised if, because of some of the factors outlined above, that does not happen.

The market looks resilient.

Cllr Shayne Cook, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said “The Council has a dedicated team in place to tackle this issue and support landlords in bringing their homes up to the minimum standard of energy efficiency set out within the regulations.

“Ensuring properties are energy efficient is vital not only in reducing the harm to our environment but also in keeping tenants’ living costs to a minimum and improving their overall health and wellbeing.

“I’m pleased to say that over 90% of landlords in the county borough who have engaged with our officers are working with us to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

“Enforcement is a final resort for us as a Council, but the approval of this approach comes as welcome news as it provides officers with additional tools, when needed, to tackle this issue.”

Supply also remained flat, with the average number of properties available to buy per member branch at 26 in June and the number of new instructions per member branch holding steady at 10 in June – the same figure as the past three months.

Additionally, 72% of member branches told Propertymark that the average time from offer accepted to exchanging contracts in May was 13 weeks or more. This compares with a March figure of only 54%.

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, said: “For the past two years agents have seen a relentless market which defied patterns that we as practitioners had become accustomed to.

“However, this summer is seeing seasonal trends return. This cooling down is allowing the number of homes available to buy to recover, and interestingly, a subtle but telling change is in the prices being achieved.”

The gift that will keep on giving 

Specifically designed, fully furnished, and equipped for a single person, these homes are ready to move straight into. Each modular home aims to provide a sleek independent space that is safe and comfortable for residents to transition to independent living in more permanent accommodation.

Built to last for at least 60 years, these homes have energy costs of £5 a week and are designed to Future Home Standards, which exceeds building regulations for energy efficiency and sound insulation.

Andy Hill, Group Chief Executive at The Hill Group, said: “We are pleased to be working with Southend-on-Sea City Council and The Salvation Army to gift the first purpose-built modular homes in Essex.  We designed SoloHaus to aid vulnerable individuals with nowhere to call home and I am confident that this scheme will be life-changing for many Essex residents.”

Systems in the form of a dedicated staff team from the Salvation Army will work with Southend-on-Sea City Council to provide specialist support to enable residents to adjust and settle into their new homes, as well as prevent the recurrence of homelessness.

Captain Tracey Bale, Salvation Army leader in Southend, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming our first residents into their new homes in Leigh on Sea. People that are transitioning away from homelessness are often the most vulnerable in society, and here at Malachi Southend, they will be able to adjust to life off the streets, which for many, will be the first time in a long time that they will experience a period of calm and hope in their lives.”

Bale concluded: “Residents will have access to 24-hour support and The Salvation Army is working across the public and community sector to deliver wider support to the local area through our work.”

If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough in Leigh-on-Sea, please sign up for the StreetLink service to help them get the support and access services they might need.

For more information on SoloHaus, you can contact Rory Lowings on [email protected].