House prices up 1.6 percent in November

LONDON (Reuters) - Asking prices for homes in England and Wales were 1.6 percent higher in November than a year ago, the biggest annual rise since May 2008, property Web site Rightmove said on Monday.

On a month-on-month basis, prices fell by 1.6 percent in what Rightmove said was likely to be the start of a seasonal slowdown.

"While the market has recovered from some dreadful lows, this month's price fall proves that it does not yet have the strength of buck seasonal trends," said Miles Shipside, Rightmove's commercial director.

"We expect three months of asking price falls before a tentative recovery in early spring."

Tight supply and record low interest rates have supported property prices in recent months, helping them recover from falls of as much as 20 percent during 2008.

In October, asking prices rose 0.2 percent on the year -- the first annual rise since June 2008. On the month, prices rose 2.8 percent, the biggest jump for a month of October in six years.

In London, which has led the country's house price recovery, property asking prices were up 2.7 percent on an annual basis in November and down 3.1 percent on the month.

Rightmove said market volumes remained thin, with the number of properties coming to market some 30 percent below 2007 levels.

(Reporting by Christina Fincher; editing by Chris Pizzey)