This was down from 3.5% in the previous month and although prices were 9.7% higher than in the same three months a year ago, this was lower than the annual rate of 10.2% in July.
On a monthly basis prices increased 0.1% between July and August, continuing the fluctuating monthly movements recorded this year by the Halifax index.
There were five monthly price rises and three price falls in the first eight months of 2014 and Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, pointed out that the quarter on quarter change is a more reliable indicator of the underlying trend.
He also pointed out that HMRC seasonally adjusted figures shows that home sales have remained broadly stable so far this year at between 101,000 and 104,000 a month with the exception of February at 109,500.
Also, despite a modest 1.3% decline in July to 101,190, sales in the three months to July were 16% higher than in the same quarter last year.
‘Housing demand is supported by continuing economic recovery, growth in employment, improving consumer confidence and low mortgage rates,’ said Ellis.
‘Nonetheless, earnings growth that remains below consumer price inflation, and the prospect of an interest rate rise at some point over the coming months, are likely to curb demand,’ he explained.
‘There are some signs of an improvement in housing supply, both in terms of more second hand properties coming onto the market and increased numbers of new homes. These trends, if sustained, should help to improve the balance between supply and demand, contributing to an easing in the pace of house price growth,’ he added.
