LONDON (Reuters) British house prices posted their first annual decline in a year in the three months to November, a survey showedyesterday, a further sign the housing market is cooling after a rebound earlier this year.

Mortgage lender Halifax said house prices fell 0.1 percent last month, meaning prices in the three months to November fell 0.7 percent compared with a year ago the first decline on this measure since November 2009.

That compared with gains of 1.8 percent on the month and a three-month annual rise of 1.2 percent in October.

Analysts said the figures reinforced the view that house prices would remain soft in 2011, as tight credit and worries about the economic outlook weigh on people’s ability to buy.

Rival mortgage lender Nationwide reported a 0.3 percent fall in house prices in November, while official data showing mortgage approvals fell to an eight-month low in October suggest the housing market will remain muted for some time yet.