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Home owners wishing to sell their houses  quickly have started to lower their prices substantially to attract what few buyers remain in the housing market, a survey shows today.

Rightmove’s monthly housing market survey showed sellers have reduced their asking prices by 2.9% this month from October - the biggest fall since December last year and the largest ever for a November.

The survey also found that asking prices were down 7.1% on prices a year ago, but Rightmove said agents were reporting that deals were being struck nearer to 20% down from the peak in autumn last year. The average home coming onto the market cost £223,000 in the four weeks to November 8.

“Some sellers could avoid months of disillusionment and despair if they started marketing at an asking price closer to where the evidence indicates they are likely to end up,” said Miles Shipside, the commercial director of Rightmove.

“While average asking prices have fallen by 7.1% over the past year, in most parts of the country you should look to at least double that discount to achieve a sale.”

20,000 people a week put their property up for sale during the period, the lowest level recorded by Rightmove since 2002 and down on a level of about 35,000 a week 12 months ago.

The survey comes after the Halifax reported last week that prices in the October were down 15% from a year ago.