The monetary policy committee (MPC) for the Bank of England has decided to hold the base interest rate at 0.5% for the 6th month in a row.

The decision does not come as a surprise to the industry and some experts believe the rate will stay at this low figure until next summer. Good news for borrowers but not so good for savers.

According to the Halifax, house prices rose by 0.8% in August. They say that this now puts the average house price at £160,973.

The Halifax said that house prices have now risen in 4 out of the last 8 months as the market continues to show signs of stabilising.

According to the Nationwide Building Society, UK house prices rose 1.6 per cent in August. This rise is the biggest increase that they've reported since December 2006.

The annual rate at which prices are falling also continued to ease during August, narrowing to just 2.7 per cent, down from 6.2 per cent in July. The Nationwide said prices were now 3.2 per cent higher than at the beginning of 2009 at an average of £160,224, although it added that they were still 14.4 per cent below their peak in October 2007.

The average asking price for a UK home fell 2.2% this month, according to property website Rightmove. The average house price fell by £5,102 to £222,762- compared to a 0.6% rise in the previous month.

According to the property website, on an annual basis, house prices have now dropped by 3.1% this year.

It has been claimed that residential properties sales and remortgages are falling through due to discrepancies between agreed sale prices and valuations between surveyors and estate agents, according to research conducted by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) members believe properties are being undervalued by as much as 10% . A large majority (69%) of agents had experienced problems with lenders’ valuations after a sale is already agreed.

According to research commissioned by Abbey Mortgages, the number of home owners renting out a spare room has tripled over the last twelve months.

Abbey estimates that more than 981,000 people are currently 'landlords', an increase of 152% from 388,000 in July last year.