House price growth eased back to the slowest annual rate seen in nearly a year in June, Halifax has reported.

Property values lifted by 8.4% annually, marking the lowest figure since a 7.8% annual increase in July 2015. The average UK house price stood at £216,823 in June.

On a month-on-month basis, price growth accelerated, with a 1.3% increase in June - jumping from a 0.9% rise in May.

But Halifax said that month-on-month price changes can often be "erratic" and quarterly changes are a more reliable indicator of underlying trends.

The quarterly measure showed house prices in the three months to June were 1.2% higher than they were in the three months before that.

The quarterly increase was the weakest since December 2014, the report said.

Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, said: "There is evidence that the underlying pace of house growth may be easing.

"House prices in the three months to June were 1.2% higher than in the previous quarter; down from 1.5% in May.

"The annual rate of growth fell from 9.2% in May to 8.4%; the lowest since July 2015.

"House prices continue to increase, albeit at a slower rate, but this precedes the EU referendum result, therefore it is far too early to determine any impact since."

Sarah Beeny, owner of online estate agency Tepilo, said: "It's not surprising that annual house price growth has dipped in light of the uncertainty caused by the EU referendum.

"It's hard to say what the impact of the vote will be in the short term, as things are changing all the time, but at the moment employment rates are high, interest rates look likely to remain low and there is high demand but a lower supply of houses. Therefore, the market is well-placed to face uncertain times ahead."

Ben Madden, managing director of London estate agent Thorgills, said the referendum result had encouraged some people to start making firm buying decisions.

He said: "In the week after the referendum result, there was an immediate uplift in new sales instructions and an increase in buyer registrations...

"What we anticipate is a reduction in window-shoppers, those less-motivated buyers with lists of property requirements as long as your arm, that inevitably decide to stay put. But we are seeing strong signs that committed buyers and sellers are now carrying on with their lives."

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said that, looking ahead, house prices are likely to come under pressure from tighter checking of prospective mortgage borrowers by lenders amid the economic uncertainty.

But Mr Archer also said some factors would limit the potential for house prices to edge downwards, including the prospect of interest rates remaining "extremely low" and keeping borrowing costs down for a prolonged period.

He said: "A shortage of properties may also have some limiting impact on the downside for house prices."

By Vicky Shaw, Press Association