Story by Rory Poulter

Richmond property prices bounced back up in August - reversing a fall that was posted in July.

The average sale price across all property types was £776,811, which is new record high and up from £752,850 from the month before.

The increase came before the turmoil triggered by the Liz Truss government with the resulting surge in interest rates, including the cost of mortgages.

Housing industry experts at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) are predicting property price falls, while house builders have reported a collapse in enquiries.

The property market in desirable Richmond upon Thames has been relatively resilient during previous house price slumps, however it seems unlikely to escape the fall-out resulting from higher mortgage costs.

Looking at a breakdown of sale prices –

* Detached homes up from £1,668,413 in July to £1,703,880 in August.

* Semi-detached properties up from £1,099,897 in July to £1,130,067 in August.

* Terraced houses up from £865,786 in July to £897,533 in August.

* Flats and maisonettes up from £492,388 in July to £507,798 in August.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist for the RICS, said: "The turmoil in mortgage markets in recent weeks has compounded the increasing level of economic uncertainty resulting from higher energy bills and the wider cost of living crisis, in shifting the dial in the housing market.

"Even though the headline price balance remains in positive territory for now, storm clouds are visible in the deterioration of near term expectations for both pricing and sales. Looking further out, the picture portrayed by the RICS survey has clearly shifted in a negative direction.

"How this plays out in terms of hard data will inevitably depend in part on the state of the mortgage market once it settles down, but it is difficult not to envisage further pressure on the housing sector as the economy adjusts to higher interest rates and the tight labour market begins to reverse.

"For now, mortgage arrears and possessions remain at historic lows but they are inevitably going to move upwards over the next year, as pressure on homeowners grows.

"However, as lenders have been a lot more cautious through this cycle with high loan to value mortgage accounting for a much smaller share of the lending book than in the past, this should help to limit the adverse impact on the market."