House prices showed a marginal increase on a quarterly basis last month, new Halifax figures have shown, while falls in mortgage rates have improved accessibility to the housing market.

Data from the lender revealed values were one per cent higher in August than in the previous three months, with the average cost of a home now standing at £161,743.

However, prices were down 1.2 per cent on a monthly basis, following three consecutive months of rises.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, noted the quarterly figure is "more reliable" as it "smoothes out some of the monthly

Get the ball rolling with a free, no obligation property valuation from one of our countrywide auctioneers. It doesn't matter where your property is located, or what type of property it is, if the price is right, selling property at auction is faster, cheaper and more straightforward than through an estate agent.  Plus you have that peace of mind that once the hammer comes down, your property is sold - you receive 10% deposit from the buyer on the day of the auction, with completion taking place approx 28 days later.

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It has been reported this week that Aldermore Bank has launched a 100% mortgage deal which will allow homebuyers to borrow the full amount of a property’s value, without putting down a cash deposit.

The small bank, which was launched in 2009, is the first lender to offer a new mortgage at 100 per cent since the widespread withdrawal of these high loan-to-value (LTV) deals during the financial crisis. But to obtain the loan, potential homebuyers will need to secure a guarantor, such as a parent, grandparent or guardian, who is willing to support it.

This needs 25% of the mortgage to be

Our auctioneer partner, Auction House London had a fantastic auction on Tuesday with a sale rate of 91% (20 lots sold from 22 offered) in front of a very busy auction room. There were several lots that did particularly well but we think they may have set a new auction record with lot 25 - the three bed house in Camberwell that sold for £100,500 off a guide price of just £17,500. The reserve price was no higher than the guide price, so the vendor would have been happy with £17,500! But with an eventual sale price at almost 6 times that figure, as you can imagine, the vendor was very pleased

We're no Mystic Meg, however we do want to draw your attention to the recent (and somewhat varying) house price predictions from some of the property market experts:

• The NIESR says house prices will fall 10.5 per cent in real terms over five years, down 4.5 per cent this year and 1.5 per cent in each subsequent year.
• Rightmove says asking prices will slip in 2011 - predicting a 5 per cent fall over the year
• Howard Archer, chief UK economist at analysts IHS Global Insight, suggests prices will be 10 per cent lower than their mid 2010 levels by the end of 2011
• RICS forecasts a

The North South gap has become a gulf. London remains the only region where house prices are rising in England and Wales annually, according to the Land Registry.

The July House Price Index from the Land Registry saw house values in London increase 1.9 per cent monthly and 1.3 per cent year-on-year, with the average property fetching £346,416.

In the North East the average property price is less than a third of a London home at £101,143, with an 8.8 per cent drop since July 2010.

And a gloomy outlook for those aspiring to home ownership has been laid out by the he National Housing

As the new waive of auctions commence following the summer break, we'd like to draw your attention to some of the fantastic properties that are under the hammer this month.  Check out our property auction Hot Picks http://www.ukauctionlist.com/hotpicks to view a wide range of property bargains for sale across the UK. 

Foreign property investors are spreading their wings and have started buying large properties outside of London in North Surrey, according to Knight Frank.

It reported that it has sold £158m worth of top end property in North Surrey since the 1st of April this year, with a minimum purchse price of £4m.

Buyer analysis reveals that 43% of buyers were from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), 32% from the UK, 15% from the rest of Europe, 5% from the Middle East and 5% from India.

New or newly refurbished properties that have sold across North Surrey since 1st April

Back from holiday and to the latest  news that optimism among landlords in the UK is at its highest point since 2007, with many proprietors viewing the coming three months for their portfolios in a positive light.

This is the finding of the National Landlords Association's (NLA's) Landlord Optimism Index, which revealed 65 per cent of those surveyed rate their prospects for the next quarter as either "good" or "very good".

In addition, the study showed respondents are also looking favourably on the overall state of the private rented sector, as 54 per cent of those quizzed believe the

Hello, this will be my last blog entry for the next week, as I am being whisked off to Spain on my annual holiday!  So I am just letting you know that more and more properties are being uploaded into our database this week, as the property auction houses begin to release their September catalogues.  Over the weekend we added new auction property in Leicestershire, Lancashire, Greater Mancheseter and Wales.  And this week, there will be new London, Scotland, Essex and hopefully Yorkshire, properties added.  So check back every day to find that dream bargain home!

I'll be back on-line with