22 September 2011 Last updated at 05:05 ET

Property sales fell in August, says HMRC

The UK housing market has been relatively subdued for some months

The number of properties sold in the UK fell to 78,000 in August, figures from the tax authority show.

This was 6,000 fewer sales than in July - which had seen the highest total for a year - although a drop is often recorded in August during what is traditionally a quieter holiday month.

However, the figure was down 3,000 compared with August 2010, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said.

At the height of the property boom in July 2007, 151,000 homes were sold.

Since 2007, sales have been weighed down by the continued rationing of mortgages and the reluctance of sellers to drop their asking prices.

Separate figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) on Tuesday showed that UK mortgage lending rose by 6% in August compared with July.

Gross mortgage lending stood at £13.4bn in August, up 10% on the same month a year ago. The CML said that the overall picture for mortgage lending was subdued, but stable.