Britain\'s house prices rise 1.8 pct in August

House prices in Britain increased by 1.8 percent in the year to August, lower than a 2.0 percent increase in the previous 12 months, the official data showed on Tuesday. The average price of properties in Britain stood at 234,000 pounds (about 374,400 U.S. dollars) in the month, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS). On a seasonally adjusted basis, the house prices rose by 0.1 percent between July and August. The data indicated that there existed big gap between house prices in London and Northern Ireland. The largest increase was in London at 6.3 percent in the 12 months to August of this year, while Northern Ireland posted the biggest drop of 12.8 percent in house prices. \"House prices remain relatively stable across most of the country, although prices in London continue to increase, whilst Northern Ireland prices are falling,\" the ONS said. The ONS data also showed that prices of new homes rose by 3.0 percent during the 12 months to August, while the price of pre-owned dwellings increased by 1.7 percent. (1 pound = 1.60 U.S. dollars)