Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said:
“UK house prices edged up by 0.1% in November, though the annual pace of price growth slowed a little, to 3.7% from 3.9% the previous month.
“The annual rate of house price growth has fluctuated in a fairly narrow range between 3% and 4% over the past six months, which is broadly consistent with earnings growth over the longer term.
“While this bodes well for a sustainable increase in housing market activity in the period ahead, much will depend on whether building activity can keep pace with increasing demand.
“Surveyors have continued to report a dearth of properties on the market in recent months, with the number of available homes reportedly at the lowest level since the late 1970s.
“Therefore it is positive that policymakers are focusing on the need to increase home building, with the Chancellor announcing a range of measures aimed at boosting housing supply in his Autumn Statement.
“The current rate of construction activity is well below the projected rate of household formation. Only 135,000 new homes were built in England in the twelve months to September 2015, well below the c220,000 new households that are projected to form each year over the next decade.”
Alex Gosling, CEO, online estate agents HouseSimple.com, commented:
"The Chancellor announced plans to build more houses in the Autumn Statement, but he didn't address the problem facing the housing market today.
"Demand continues to massively outstripping supply.
"We have an immediate supply crisis in the UK and it's hard to see how home builders can build houses fast enough to free up the demand-supply bottleneck.
"We need measures to stimulate the housing market and it can't be just about building more homes to meet demand in the future.
"Sellers need to be encouraged back to the market.
"But homeowners are finding it harder to climb up the property ladder, which means people are renovating and extending rather than moving.
"High prices remain a barrier for first time buyers but also second and third steppers.
'And price growth is unlikely to cool in the coming months, especially with more investors expected to come to the market to buy before the new buy-to-let stamp duty rates come into force."
