Average house prices fell by 0.2% from October to November, according to the latest house price report from Halifax, published today.

This takes the average property price to £204,552 and pulls down quarterly price growth to 1.4%, its lowest level since last December.

Annual price growth has also eased, but overall prices in the three months to November were still 9% higher than the same period time last year.

Sales flat, supply low

Home sales were flat in October, falling slightly by 0.2% to 105,490. The quarterly trend is more positive with sales in the three months to October 4.7% higher than in the same three months in 2014, according to HM Revenue & Customs.

Mortgage approvals are still rising, ticking up 1% in the last month and 17% year on year.

However, supply of property has dropped to a new record low, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, as new instructions by home sellers fell in October for the ninth successive month.

Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “Solid economic growth, rising real earnings and falls in already very low mortgage rates have combined to stimulate housing demand this year.

“The increasingly acute imbalance between supply and demand is causing prices to rise at a robust pace. A situation that is unlikely to reverse significantly in the short-term.”

And Myles Williams, chief executive at Fast Property Finance, added: “November may have seen a slight dip in house prices but this does not dent the overall trajectory of up, up and away. After all, with demand so strong and supply so weak, prices will only continue to rise.

“Fix the supply side and you’ll get a more sustainable and healthy market. Unfortunately we appear to be a long way off achieving that.”

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