It said the average home is now worth £161,731, down 1% compared to November 2010. And Halifax said the underlying trend is downward, with November marking the third fall in the past four months, dragging house prices down by 0.6% in the three months to November compared to the previous quarter.

Despite the negative trend, Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said house prices had been stable: "[November prices continued the] mixed monthly pattern seen this year. House prices have remained remarkably stable in 2011 despite the difficult and deteriorating economic climate and the substantial pressure on households' finances.

"The UK average price now is only marginally lower than at the end of 2010. In addition, activity has recently shown a few signs of strengthening a little. We expect the market to remain broadly unchanged in terms of both prices and sales over the coming few months as demand and supply conditions alter little."

In November 2011, Land Registry figures showed house prices falls accelerated in October with a drop of 0.9%. This was immediately contrasted by Nationwide, which said the housing market remained "surprisingly resilient" in November.

Going downhill: house prices have droppped by 19% from their peak in August 2007, according to the Halifax measure. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images.