House asking prices fell this month in the latest sign that the market is cooling, according to a property website.

Rightmove said prices fell 1.7% as sellers compete to attract buyers during the quieter winter months, although the average figure for the UK is at £267,127 after prices rose 8.5% on a year earlier.

Average prices in Sussex are around 15% higher than the UK average The website's housing market analyst Miles Shipside said underlying demand remains strong but has been muted by higher prices stretching affordability.

The ability to borrow more to fund those higher prices has been curtailed by tighter mortgage lending criteria, he added.

Mr Shipside said: "Selling is more difficult than it was earlier in the year, though the mini-boom experienced by much of the country has hit the pause rather than the stop button."

The year to date has seen the highest 12-month period for housing transaction volumes since 2007, although average stock levels held at estate agents fell to an average of 60 properties, a record low in November.

New properties coming onto the market in November slumped by 15% on last month and are 1% down on a year ago.

The biggest falls in November asking prices were in the South West with a 3.9% fall to an average asking price of £272,834, the North falling 3.6% to an average asking price of £144,124 and the North West slipping 3.3% to an average asking price of £163,123.

By contrast only two regions rose last month. London was up 0.8% to an average asking price of £601,180, while East Anglia was 0.7% higher to an average asking price of £248,205.

In every region in the country, year-on-year asking prices have risen.

Also showing a decline is mortgage lending to first-time buyers.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said there were 26,800 first-time buyer loans in September — a fall of 3% on the previous month but still 16% up on the same month a year earlier.

By value, there was £4 billion advanced to first-time buyers in September — 2% down on August but 25% higher than September last year.

With lending to home movers also weakening month-on-month for the second month in a row, the CML said its latest figures suggested that fears of an over-heating in the housing market were now dissipating.

Experts have put the recent mood of caution down to speculation over rising interest rates, as well as house hunters being put off by higher prices and the impact of stricter mortgage rules which came into force in April.

CML director general Paul Smee said: "This has been a year when lenders and intermediaries have been put under increased spotlight from regulatory, political and media spheres and have risen to meet the challenges.

"The lending market is healthier than it was a year ago, and set to remain so. Remortgaging has returned as a driver of lending volume in the buy-to-let sector. But any fears of over-heating in the housing market are now dissipating as house purchase lending activity seems to be softening."

In September, the number of loans advanced to movers was 31,700, a 10% fall on the previous month but up 11% on September last year. By value, lending to movers totalled £6 billion, 12% down on August but up 18% on September last year.

There were signs of a pick-up in the buy-to-let market after 18,100 loans in September, representing lending of £2.5 billion.

This compared with the August low of 15,700 loans worth £2.2 billion and returns buy-to-let lending to levels similar to July.