The rate at which house prices are falling in England and Wales is growing, according to figures released by the Land Registry.

The latest report revealed prices fell by 1.9% in August, giving an annual drop of 4.6%.

In July the Land Registry claimed house prices were still higher than they had been a year earlier but the latest batch of data brings it more into line with similar surveys produced by Nationwide and the Halifax.

The discrepancy is partly explained by the fact that lenders operate on prices when sales are agreed while the Land Registry works on completed sales, meaning its data lags several months behind other surveys.

The impact of the housing slump has also started to affect London, which had previously proved resilient to the wider economic turmoil. Prices there fell by 3.2% in August alone, the first monthly fall for eight years.