Nationwide: House prices flat in November

The average UK house price stands at £163,853, showing a 1.2% decline on a year ago. Prices have been dropping on an annual basis for nine months in a row, the building society adds.

The 0% month-on-month change in November follows a small 0.6% monthly increase recorded by the study in October.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide chief economist, says the performance of the housing market is strongly linked to employment, and wage growth is likely to remain under downward pressure as competition for jobs remains strong in the coming months.

He says: "This supports our view that house prices are likely to remain broadly flat or decline modestly over the next 12 months."

The report follows the Land Registry's house price figures for the month of October, which were released yesterday, and showed the patchy state of the housing market across the country.

The Land Registry report showed prices grew by 7% year-on-year in London but dropped by almost 6% in the north-east of England.