London Rightmove House Prices Fall Most Since 2004

London house prices fell the most since 2004 this month after five interest rate increases in a year and turmoil in financial markets sapped buyers' confidence, according to a Rightmove Plc report. The average asking price for a home in the U.K. capital declined 2.5 percent from August to 384,439 pounds ($774,000), according to Britain's biggest real-estate Web site. The reading is taken from a survey conducted from Aug. 12 to Sept. 8. For the U.K. as a whole, prices fell 2.6 percent, Rightmove said. Growth in London property values is faltering after the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market triggered losses in securities linked to the loans and spurred banks to raise lending rates. The turmoil is piling pressure on consumers, already finding it costlier to pay loans after the Bank of England raised its key rate to a six-year high in July.