House prices in England and Wales continued to rise in the early autumn, but the rate of increase fell sharply in the wake of the 11 September terror attacks, sector experts have said.

House price inflation last summer was much lower than during summer, slipping back to levels last seen in January 2000, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.

And Rics analysts predicted that the housing market will continue to slow, in line with seasonal trends.

"Things will remain sluggish and sellers will need to price realistically to achieve sales over the next few months," Rics housing market spokesman Ian Perry said.

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