Annual house price inflation has fallen to its lowest rate for six years, Halifax has revealed.

The November Halifax House Price Index revealed that house prices grew just 0.3% annually, the slowest rate since December 2012 and down from 1.5% in October.

Prices also declined on a monthly basis by 1.4%, leaving the average at £224,578.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “While this is the lowest rate of growth in six years, it remains within our forecast range of 0% to 3% for 2018.

“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.

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

Commenting on the figures, Sam Mitchell, chief executive of online agent Housesimple, said: “On first glance, these figures might set alarm bells ringing, but we need to put them into context before manning the panic stations.

“There’s an unprecedented level of political turbulence battering the country at the moment and that is inevitably feeding through to house prices.

“We didn’t see the traditional autumn bounce in transaction levels this year, but after a subdued summer and three months of Brexit wranglings, it was probably more hope than expectation that the housing market would just power through.

“All things considered, the property market is actually holding up incredibly well in extremely testing times. And there are areas of the country, such as the north-west and Yorkshire, which seemed to have brushed off Brexit fears.

“Transaction levels have been surprisingly strong and some impressive prices are being achieved, many close to asking price.

“While the affordability problem has caught up with the housing market in the south, the north is enjoying a mini boom thanks to cheaper property stock and a strong jobs market.

“Looking forward, a lot of buyers have probably decided early to wait until the New Year before making any decisions about purchasing so December is likely to be quiet. But that could all change depending on Brexit this week.”