House price growth recorded a surprising bounceback in August as the average property value increased by nearly £5,000 ($6,878) in the space of a month. Across the UK, the average house price in August was £248,857 ($342,361)—11 percent higher than a year earlier, Nationwide Building Society said. The average house price in August was £4,628 ($6,366) higher than in July when it stood at £244,229 ($335,994). Property values were up by 2.1 percent month-on-month in percentage terms, marking the second-biggest gain over the past 15 years. A 2.3 percent monthly rise was previously recorded in April this year. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said house prices are now around 13 percent higher than at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. He said, “The bounceback in August is surprising.” He said it had seemed more likely that the tapering of the stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland from July …