A heatwave is sweeping Britain but the property market is cooling off, says Jonathan Rolande

Still growth yes, but much slower than – let's face it – the speed that everything else is going up.

With the average UK house price now sitting at £268,400, the market is showing clear signs of losing heat.

The numbers show that while sales activity continues at its fastest rate for four years, more properties are hitting the market.

More choice means buyers can afford to be pickier, and that's putting downward pressure on prices.

The cooling effect is already hitting expensive markets hardest. Properties valued above £500,000 are seeing modest falls, with London and the South-East bearing the brunt.

West Central London has dropped 4.3 per cent annually, while West London is down 1.35 per cent.

This isn't surprising. When affordability is stretched to breaking point, something has to give.

High-value markets are simply pricing out too many potential buyers, and with more to choose from, what gives is price.

22 per cent of listings have been sitting on the market for more than six months. The average time to sell has stretched to 45 days, but unsold homes are languishing for 75 days on average.

Sellers who refuse to price realistically are being left behind. The market is delivering a lesson in supply and demand, and this time, it's the buyers who are set to benefit.

Lower prices and reduced competition mean better opportunities to get on the property ladder for first-timers, especially as mortgage rates are expected to fall further over the coming months.

Property investors looking for genuine value should focus on affordable markets below £200,000, where prices are still growing at 2.7 per cent annually, so away from traditional safe havens in the south.

Cash buyers will have significant advantages as sellers become more motivated to complete deals quickly, and other buyers are nervously backing away from deals for often trivial reasons.

The message is clear. This cooler market rewards realism and punishes wishful thinking. As Richard Donnell from Zoopla puts it: "Serious sellers need to be realistic on where they set their asking price".

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But this is Britain. That means that the heatwave will soon pass, and our national obsession with property may well mean that this quieter period passes quickly too.

Those who want to secure a home at a good price may regret it later if they don't act soon.

Jonathan Rolande is the founder of House Buy Fast. For more free advice and information, visit www.jonathanrolande.co.uk