By Liisa Tuhkanen
LONDON (Reuters) - Asking prices for homes on sale in Britain posted the largest monthly fall on record in December but are likely to rise by between 4 and 5 percent next year, property website Rightmove said on Monday.
The 3.3 percent drop took prices of property coming onto the market to an average of 258,424 pounds ($405,907) this month, according to Rightmove's House Price Index.
Britain's housing market still seems to be heading for further price gains next year, Rightmove said, even after its strong recovery lost some momentum in recent months due to meagre wage growth and tighter mortgage regulation.
Asking prices in 2014 rose by 7 percent for the year and Rightmove said it expected growth to continue in 2015, although at a slower pace.
Further price growth is likely to be driven by a shortage of homes for sale in popular locations and a shake-up of Britain's taxes on house purchases that was introduced by finance minister George Osborne this month and will mean lower so-called stamp duties for most home-buyers.
England's South East, East and South West regions will outperform the north in 2015, Rightmove predicted, but it said the outlook was weaker for London which was unlikely to lead the price rises as it did in 2014.
Similarly, property firm Hamptons International predicted house prices across England and Wales would rise by 4 percent next year but growth in London will lag behind at 1.5 percent.
(Editing by William Schomberg/Mark Heinrich)