A window of a house is seen in London, Britain June 3, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices increased last month at the weakest annual rate since January, although there are signs that demand in the market is beginning to strengthen, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday.

House prices increased 4.4 percent compared with a year earlier, down from growth of 4.6 percent in October, Nationwide said. Economists in a Reuters poll had expected house price growth to remain steady at 4.6 percent.

In November alone, house prices edged up 0.1 percent - in line with expectations.

“There are some signs that, despite the uncertain economic outlook, demand conditions have strengthened a little in recent months, reflecting the impact of solid labour market conditions and historically low borrowing costs,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist.