UK house prices fell unexpectedly in August amid growing calls for property taxes to be reformed in the Autumn Budget.

The average price of a property sold in the month dropped to £271,079, down from £272,664 in July. Annual house price inflation slowed to 2.1 per cent, from 2.4 per cent the previous month, according to data from the Nationwide.

Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said the relatively subdued pace of house price growth was “understandable” given stretched affordability.

“An average earner buying the typical first-time buyer property with a 20 per cent deposit faces a monthly mortgage payment equivalent to around 35 per cent of their take-home pay, well above the long run average of 30 per cent,” he added.

Property experts warned that rumoured tax changes, i

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