Rightmove are blaming HIPs for a 3.2% house price fall nationally and - wait for it - a 6.8% fall in London in December, after a surge in one and two-bedroom homes hitting the market in the run up to HIPs day. A bit of mathematical voodoo reveals that the HIPs effect could have accounted for 1.1% of the national price fall and 2.3% in London. Rightmove's December figures leave their annual inflation rate at 4.8%, down from 7.9%. They aren't, however, being particularly bearish about the numbers, insisting that a monthly fall brought on by season and HIPs-related factors doesn't mean more falls in the New Year. More here.

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