Despite the monthly rise, asking prices are just two per cent higher than this time last year. Nationally, asking prices increased by just 0.4 per cent over the past month, with London and the south driving the dip. Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, added: "We’d expect to see a slight uptick in new seller asking prices in September, with the traditional back to school season boosting activity heading into autumn. "This year’s 0.4 per cent September price rise is a little lower than the norm, which is an average of 0.6per cent at this time of year. Despite subdued price growth, the number of sales agreed nationally is four per cent higher than this time last year.