House price inflation has fallen below wage increases for the first time this decade and the market could, warns property website Rightmove.co.uk, remain in a slump for up to seven years. The website's latest monthly survey shows asking prices have risen by 0.2% on the previous month leaving them 2.4% higher than a year earlier but down from 4.9% in May and at the lowest figure this decade. Wage inflation currently stands at above 4%. Miles Shipside, Rightmove's commercial director, said: "This year's traditional spring bounce in asking prices has ground to a halt. Sellers have belatedly realised that buyers are unwilling or unable to pay ever increasing prices." The fall in house sales has been linked to slower consumer spending. According to the Bank of England households are three times more likely to invest in a new washing machine or hi-fi if they move home. The bank's quarterly bulletin says: "A change in housing transactions of 100,000 could reduce annual spending on household and audio visual goods by 0.9%."