Studies from various organisations seem to show different pictures.

Early last week the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors declared September figures showed house prices were down for the second consecutive month. The week before the Halifax Building Society said prices went down 0.6 in September, with many variations in countrywide property prices.

While there was still growth, that was down from 0.4.

Next to Yorkshire and Humberside, where houses have an average price of ?163,257. Again there was a 0.1, with ?165,670 being the average house price. Down in the South West there has been no change, with the average house price sticking at ?233,991.

And finally to the South East which saw growth of 0.6 in September, making the average price there ?363,384.

Some boroughs of London saw spectacular growth. Prices went up by an average 39.1 in Islington and 24.6% in Kensington and Chelsea.

Despite the variations in the prices of countrywide property and the conflicting reports, it is easy to see there is a general housing slow down. However it is not a clear picture in any way, and hard to tell what is going to happen over the coming months.

Experts say there are reasons for the slow down and that's why there is nothing to panic about. The Bank of England put interest rates up five times since August last year. And those rises clashed with credit lending problems and a loss of confidence in the United States, which will have affected banks here.

So yes, house prices in the UK grew half as fast in the last six months compared to the previous six months, But the situation is far from desperate, with clear growth still being demonstrated across the UK during 2007 as a whole.

And if as is expected, the Bank of England drops interest rates in November (after holding them for three months in a row), it is possible house price growth may pick up again in 2008.