Asking prices fell for the first time in three months in November as homesellers tried to shift properties before the psychological Christmas deadline.

Rightmove said that asking prices had fallen by 1.6 per cent between October and November to an average of £226,440 and it predicted further monthly falls, with recovery not expected to resume until February.

Prices in London were 3.1 per cent down on October last year, at an average of £403,069, which Rightmove attributed to the more pressing need to sell among homeowners who market their properties just before Christmas.

The website said that the dip was evidence that the Government’s extension of the stamp duty holiday for properties priced up to £175,000 was “almost irrelevant”, as there was no sign that homeowners were rushing to take advantage of the incentive before it expires at the end of December.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “In all but the most buoyant of markets, home moving comes second to Christmas festivities. While the market has recovered from some dreadful lows, this month’s price fall proves that it doesn’t have the strength to buck seasonal trends. We expect three months of asking price falls before a tentative recovery in early spring, likely followed by pre-election jitters.”

Rightmove said that available property remained thin, with 89,140 new homes coming on to the market this month, 30 per cent below 2007 levels. It added that the market was still suffering from poor liquidity as mortgage availability had progressed at “snail’s pace” over the year.

Asking prices across the majority of the country are now higher than they were this time last year. The exceptions are the East Midlands, where asking prices are 1.6 per cent below November 2008 levels, and the North, where they were 0.6 per cent below. Southern regions showed the largest increases, with asking prices in the South East rising by 3.8 per cent over the year.

Mr Shipside said: “The shortage of stock is worse in the South than it is in the North, leading to greater upward pressure on prices due to higher numbers of willing and able buyers who have fewer properties to choose from. Recoveries tend to start in the South, and with ... lenders favouring buyers with larger deposits and greater job security, it is no surprise that the trend has been repeated this time round.”

Rightmove said that the negative impact of the removal of the stamp duty concession would outweigh its “limited” positive impact.