Property prices in the United Kingdom dropped by 0.3% from June and 2.4% from a year earlier, mortgage lender Halifax said, Invest-Gate reports.

Prices tumbled 2.6% in June from May, the biggest monthly drop since June 2011.

Experts said interest-rate increases in August and September will determine whether the market retreats slightly or crashes. Another rate hike in September could be catastrophic, pushing down prices by as much as 20% from peaks, according to experts.

Halifax recently warned tens of thousands of Londoners face £6,000 to £12,000 higher mortgages annually.

Many are abandoning buying and renting instead, creating a hot London rental market with high demand from workers returning to offices and limited supply.