UK house prices fell by 0.1% in November but there are hopes the market may be stabilising, Halifax said today.
Property prices in the three months to November were 0.7% lower than a year earlier, which was their first annual decline since November 2009.
However, Halifax said there were signs homeowners were becoming more reluctant to put properties on the market, which would help slow the recent quarterly falls in house prices.
'Higher numbers of properties for sale, combined with reduced demand, have caused the recent decrease in prices,' Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said in a statement.
'There are, however, some tentative signs that homeowners are becoming more reluctant to put their properties on the market which, if continued, will help to relieve the current downward pressure on prices,' he added.
'Interest rates are likely to remain very low for an extended period, which will support the improved mortgage affordability position for homeowners. As a result, we do not expect to see a significant fall in house prices,' he added.
The Bank of England was widely expected to keep its main lending rate at a record low level of 0.5% at a meeting tomorrow.
The average value of a home in Britain stood at £164,708 sterling in November, while prices were down 0.7% compared with 12 months earlier, Halifax added.
