house prices suffer festive fall uk house prices fell 0.7% in december  according to figures from the office of the deputy prime minister.  nationally  house prices rose at an annual rate of 10.7% in december  less than the 13.7% rise the previous month. the average uk house price fell from £180 126 in november to £178 906  reflecting recent land registry figures confirming a slowdown in late 2004. all major uk regions  apart from northern ireland  experienced a fall in annual growth during december.  december is traditionally a quiet month for the housing market because of christmas celebrations. however  recent figures from the land registry - showing a big drop in sales between the last quarter of 2004 and the previous year - suggested the slowdown could be more than a seasonal blip. the volume of sales between october and december dropped by nearly a quarter from the same period in 2003  the land registry said. although both the office of the deputy prime minister (odpm) and the land registry figures point to a slowdown in the market  the most recent surveys from nationwide and halifax have indicated the market may be undergoing a revival. after registering falls at the back-end of 2004  halifax said house prices rose by 0.8% in january and nationwide reported a rise of 0.4% in the first month of the year.