LONDON, Dec 7 Reuters British house prices rose for a second month in a row in November, figures from major mortgage lender Halifax showed on Thursday, adding to signs that the past year39;s fall in house prices is bottoming out.

Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said house prices rose 0.5 in November on a seasonally adjusted basis after a 1.2 increase in October which followed an unbroken six months of declines.

The average house price of 283,615 pounds 356,447 was 1.0 lower than a year earlier but up 1.7 from their trough in September.

Rival mortgage lender Nationwide reported last week that house prices on its measure rose for a third month in a row in November, and were 2 lower than a year earlier.

The resilience seen in house prices during 2023 continues to be underpinned by a shortage of properties available, rather than any significant strengthening of buyer demand. That said, recent figures for mortgage approvals suggest a slight uptick in activity, Halifax director Kim Kinnaird said.

Consultancy Capital Economics forecast a further 1.5 fall in house prices for 2024, but said the decline may be smaller.

While a shallow recession and a rise in unemployment next year may cause a further modest fall in house prices, with the peak in mortgage rates behind us, prices may well have already bottomed out, Capital economist Imogen Pattison said.

British house prices, like those in many other rich countries, surged during and after the COVID19 pandemic due…