The house price index is based on month-on-month figures from The Nationwide and Rightmove. Both figures will compare July's price index against the previous month of June. It will also provide an overview of the performance during July in comparison to the same time last year.

The Nationwide figures look into house prices against mortgage approvals of loans agreed by The Nationwide Building Society.

Rightmove figures are based on asking prices of properties as they come to market via Rightmove's member estate agents.

The Nationwide house price index fell for the first time since February by 0.5% during July with figures now showing that the average home is now worth £169,347.

Year on year figures still show an improvement against 2009 with prices 6.6% higher than the same time last year with the average house then costing £158.871.

According to Rightmove, in July sellers dropped asking prices by 0.6% (£1,435) with the average asking price now £236,332. Despite the fall, the average asking price of a property is £8,468 higher than the same time last year still indicating that overall the market has improved compared to last year.

The figures for both The Nationwide and Rightmove differ as The Nationwide is based on mortgage approvals and Rightmove on asking prices. However, both show similar trends this month, of falls of 0.6% and 0.5%.

The Nationwide explain that this restrictive credit condition and uncertainty with the future economy are factors that continue to put potential buyers off purchasing a home. The 0.5% fall in house prices is the first drop since February 2010. However, the months after February have seen house prices return back to increasing month-on-month figures. The increase in house price figures after February doesn't necessarily suggest that the same pattern will occur after July, but we should take into account that the fall in house prices doesn't mean that the market is heading downwards.

Despite the drop in asking prices, Rightmove say potential buyers are keeping an eye on the market. Rightmove stated that in spite of the World Cup during June-July page views were up by 11% compared with the same period a year ago. Rightmove also record that 30,000 properties are coming to market each week, up 45% compared to July last year.