LONDON British house prices increased by 1.7% in the 12 months to June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday, the smallest rise since July 2020.

House prices in London fell by 0.6%, the ONS said.

Britain's housing market, which boomed during the coronavirus pandemic, has come under strain from higher mortgage rates after last year's surge in inflation.

The ONS said its measure of private rents rose by 5.3% in the 12 months to July, the biggest increase since data collection began in 2016.

(Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by Andy Bruce and Sachin Ravikumar)