The average house price was £272,259 in September, according to Nationwide.

This was 9.5% higher than last September, a slowdown in annual house price inflation from 10% in August but, nevertheless, still robust.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “There have been further signs of a slowdown in the market over the past month, with the number of mortgages approved for house purchase remaining below pre-pandemic levels and surveyors reporting a decline in new buyer enquiries.

“Nevertheless, the slowdown to date has been modest and, combined with a shortage of stock on the market, this has meant that price growth has remained firm.

“However, headwinds are growing stronger suggesting the market will slow further in the months ahead.”

Andrew Montlake, managing director of broker, Coreco, agreed: “The days of double-digit growth may not return for a long time. The level of uncertainty in markets, and being felt by consumers, is off the charts.

“The brief surge in sentiment caused by the stamp duty announcement on Friday has been wiped out by the tsunami of market volatility since. There’s no doubt now that a lot of prospective buyers will either have to look at smaller homes due to the sharply increased mortgage rates they are now looking at, or will shelve their plans altogether and wait until there is more clarity and things have calmed down.”

Regional figures

Nationwide’s data on quarterly house price growth revealed that 10 of the UK’s 13 regions recorded slower annual price growth in the third quarter of the year.

The South West was the strongest performing region, with annual house price growth of 12.5%, while London remained weakest at 6.7%.