UK home prices fall in November

LONDON: UK house prices fell for a third month in November, the worst performance in more than a decade, and consumer confidence slumped, signs that rising credit costs are hobbling growth in Europe’s second-largest economy.

The average cost of a home in Britain declined 1.1% to £194,895 from a month earlier, after a 0.7% drop in October, a report by HBOS said on Wednesday.

Prices last fell for three months in a row in 1995. Consumer optimism declined the most in at least three years, Nationwide Building Society said.