Mubasher: House prices in the UK eased in November, with a quarterly decline and a slight annual rise, according to data released on Friday.

House prices fell 1.4% in November from October, “making three monthly falls out of the last four,” the house price index data produced by Halifax UK said.

The UK housing segment also saw a price drop of 1.1% between September and November, compared to the period between June and August.

On an annual basis, house prices ticked up 0.3% in the three months ended last November, higher than the 1.5% annual rise seen in the previous three months ended October, recording the lowest rate since December 2012.

The average house price is now GBP 224,578 ($286,494.15) in the three months to November, the data said.

“High employment, wage growth and historically low mortgage rates continue to make home ownership more affordable for many, though the need to raise a significant deposit still acts as something of a restraint on the market,” Halifax’s managing director Russell Galley said.

“This is largely offset by relatively limited supply of new and existing properties for sale, which continues to sustain house prices nationally,” Galley added.

Bank of England (BOE) sector-wide figures indicated that mortgage approvals, reflecting completed house sales, increased by 2.2% month-on-month in October to 67,086, marking the highest level since last January.

By 8:46 am GMT, the GBP/USD pair fell 0.19% to $1.2757, while the EUR/GBP pair rose 0.26% to GBP 0.8922.