More evidence is emerging of a house price slump as the property market prepares for the EU referendum.

The latest Your Move House Price Index showed property values dipped 0.4% in May to £293,599, the steepest fall since November 2011, while home sales hit a five-year low in the aftermath of the Stamp Duty surcharge.

Annually prices are still up 6.8%, but even that rate of growth is lower than previous months. Annual growth was at 7.7% in April.

Even London hasn’t escaped the malaise with house prices falling by 0.3% month-on-month to £598,421 due to uncertainty ahead of upcoming EU referendum, according to the index.

Only house prices in Slough bucked the trend, jumping 23.3% year on year to £315,704, with values lifted by Crossrail and new tech jobs,

Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, said: “The housing market is holding its breath ahead of the EU referendum and after a rapid sprint at the start of the year.

“This 0.4% dip in average house prices in England & Wales since April will be a welcome respite for those hoping to get their first foot on the ladder.

“May’s correction in property values also follows on from a surge in activity earlier in the year, when second-home buyers and landlords brought forward their purchases to avoid the Stamp Duty surcharge.

“That tax hike and the Government’s anti-landlord policies are weighing down the market, but the main factor is short-term confidence ahead of the 23rd June referendum.”

It comes one day after the RICS predicted a dip in house prices over the coming months, the first decline for four years, while website home has reported that in Aapril, there were just 415,038 homes for sale in England and Wales – down 51% from the 855,585 in April 2008.