House prices down 1.1% in December, says Rightmove

The house price index slipped 1.1% on the month, compared with a 1.3% drop in November.

"Whilst a fall is the norm at this time of year, this is December's best post-financial-crash performance, signalling another round of price rises in 2016," said Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove.

On a yearly basis, however, prices were up 7.4% this month compared with a 6.2% gain in November.

Sellers are now asking on average £289,452 for a home, up £19,975 from December last year.

Rightmove, whose figures include England and Wales, said prices ended the year nearly £20,000 higher than where they started, adding that it expects asking prices for UK homes to have risen another £17,000 in a year.

Asking prices in the capital were nearly 10% higher than they were last year, while price growth in the South East and East of England was 9.2%.