House prices fell by just 0.4 per cent over the course of November, suggesting that the market may be bottoming out.

According to the latest figures released by Nationwide, the average property lost just £340 in value last month, the smallest amount since the market started to decline just over a year ago.

This stands in comparison to the 1.3 per cent reversal seen in October and helps to bring the annual rate of decline to 13.9 per cent rather than almost 15 per cent.

Welcoming the upturn in the market, Nationwide''s chief economist Fionnuala Earley, noted: "The price of a typical house is now £158,442. This is about £25,000 less than this time last year but is still about £25,000 higher than in November 2003."

At the same time, polling firm Gfk/NOP reported that its Consumer Confidence Index has climbed by one point, with growing numbers of Britons now looking into making major purchases such as houses, cars or electrical goods.

Furthermore, prospective first-time buyers are also likely to cheer the news that shares in homebuilder Taylor Wimpey have risen in value, again indicating that a market recovery could be on the way.

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