Annual UK house price growth slowed to just 0.3 per cent in the three months to November – the lowest rate since December 2012.

This was down on the 1.5 per cent annual growth recorded in October, the latest Halifax House Price Index confirms.

It also shows that house prices in the last quarter (September-November) were 1.1 per cent lower than in the preceding three months.

The average UK house price is currently £224,578.

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

Sam Mitchell, CEO of online estate agents Housesimple.com, said that while these figures might set alarm bells ringing at first glance, “we need to put them into context before manning the panic stations”.

He added: “There’s an unprecedented level of political turbulence battering the country at the moment and that is inevitably feeding through to house prices. All things considered, the property market is actually holding up incredibly well in extremely testing times.

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

“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.”