House sales in Britain are down to their lowest level for nine years, but figures published today are not likely to push the market into further decline, experts said.
The number of sales had dropped to its lowest since 1995, down 25 per cent over the past year, with a lack of buyers cited as the main reason for the fall-off in activity.
New inquiries fell for the sixth consecutive month but, on a brighter note, the pace of decline had slowed, reflecting a cautious optimism that interest rates have peaked.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that, despite widespread property price falls and dropping sales levels, it did not think confidence would deteriorate further.
It said 41 per cent more of its members were reporting price falls than rises - the highest number reporting a fall since 1992.
There is little evidence of panic selling, the RICS said, with encouraging signals from London where surveyors are reporting a levelling off in prices.
Traditionally this market is a reliable indicator for emerging national trends and may be an early signal that declines are coming to an end. Despite the continued price decline in England and Wales, Scotland is still enjoying price rises, although these too are slowing.
Prices in Wales and northern England have shown modest falls while southern England is most affected by declines.