House prices fell by a further 1.9% in November as activity in the market dropped again, says the Land Registry.

This pushed the annual drop in property prices in England and Wales to 12.2% - the 15th consecutive monthly decrease, the figures show.

The further fall in the plummeting housing market cut the average value of a home in England and Wales by £3,200 last month, leaving it at £162,000, the figures based on completed house sales showed. The official numbers chimed with earlier indications of market conditions in November from key surveys.

Last month's decline left the average house price down by 12.2 per cent over 12 months, and on track to register a drop of almost 15 per cent over the calendar year. Survey data show prices down by about 15 per cent in the year to the end of December.

The price of an average Property stood at £162,000 with prices falling in every region over the last year. The Registry also revealed that the number of sales dipped in the third quarter of the year.

Some economists believe that house prices will fall further in 2009, with any recovery unlikely before the end of the coming year. This is because the market remains under intense pressure from the mortgage lending drought, stretched affordability, steeply rising unemployment and an unwillingness of prospective buyers to consider moving while prices are expected to suffer more declines.

The annual fall in prices recorded by the survey has been accelerating in recent months, as the housing market continues to stagnate.

"The outlook for the UK housing market remains bleak. These factors are likely to continue to outweigh the beneficial impact of lower mortage interest rates resulting from the Bank of England slashing interest rates, particularly as it is still very difficult to get a mortgage," Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, the consultancy, said.

First-time buyers have not revived the market despite falling prices as they face demands for high deposits from lenders. Meanwhile, those who may have moved homes have been staying put as prices reduce and the threat of redundancy looms for some during the impending recession.

This survey, which lags behind lenders' data, showed that terraced homes suffered the biggest fall in prices, down 13.5% in the 12 months to November taking the average price to £125,000. Wales has seen an annual fall of 11.7%, but the month-on-month figures show prices were unchanged between October and November.

At a more local level, prices in Hartlepool - which were at a relatively low base - fell the least over the last year, down by 2.1%. The biggest drop was in South Gloucestershire, where the average property cost 13.6% less than it did a year ago.
The survey was published the day after Bank of England figures showed that homeowners were concentrating on repaying their mortgages, rather than spending by cashing in on equity.