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The number of homes changing hands has fallen to a record low as potential buyers continue to stay away from the market according to new figures released today from the Roayl Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The average number of houses sold by estate agents in the past three months was 17.4 - almost a third lower than a year ago.

Buyers have become increasingly unwilling to commit due to recent news reports and mortgage market problems.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/money/2008/06/10/bcnhouse210.xml

UK house prices fell for the eight month running in May, according to figures from property research company Hometrack.

The report also revealed a fall in new buyer registrations, a rise in the length of time a property spends on the market and a smaller proportion of the asking price being achieved.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKL2319703620080526

The slowdown in property sales is having a positive affect on the buy-to-let market, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors today.

Lower demand to buy houses has pushed sellers back into the rental market where yields are rising, according to the research published today.

The report advises: "Many are taking advantage of rising rental yields while they wait for the credit crisis to abate."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7413849.stm

The number of buy-to-let mortgages available to landlords has decreased by 85 per cent in the last year, according to new research. This is despite an increase in demand for rental properties.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/05/06/cmbuy06.xml

Landlords are about to flood the property market with buy-to-let homes, according to experts today.

The move comes as investors look to capitalise on the drop in capital gains tax to sell properties that are no longer appreciating in value.

http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=36&storycode=3110128

A slightly contrarian article.....

The housing market maybe stalling but buy-to-letters are seeing rents and yields at their highest for seven years.

advertisementAverage rents reached a new peak of £11,886 in February, up from £11,604 in January, according to Paragon's latest buy-to-let Index.

Paragon said that as demand for rented accommodation continues to grow in a more difficult environment for home purchase, landlords are able to achieve higher rents and yields both on their existing rental properties and on additions to their portfolios.

See more on ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/03/28/cmtaxman28.xml

There seem to be a plethora of measures and opinions out there on which direction the market is moving in.

The latest nationwide survey reports small falls consistently over the past five months - full story here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7418218

What seems clear is the market has slowed and seems to be at an inflexion point: up, down or flat is the question...

Bank mortgage lending to people who are moving home is still down by a third on the same time a year ago, said the British Bankers' Association (BBA). The figures confirm the continuing downturn in the property market.

Banks lent 43,870 mortgages to home movers in February, slightly more than in January, but 33% down on last year.

People who do not move, but change their mortgages to more favourable deals, now account for nearly half of all new mortgages granted by banks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7316082.stm

Nationwide, the UK's biggest building society, yesterday predicted the first annual fall in house prices since the mid-1990s as it published figures showing the fifth monthly fall in the cost of a home.

The Nationwide's monthly report on the property market revealed that house prices dropped by 0.6% this month, adding to fears that the end of Britain's property boom would have knock-on effects on consumer spending and growth.

The longest run of monthly falls in the Nationwide index since the depths of the property crash in 1992 cut the annual rate of growth in house prices to 1.1% - its lowest level since 1996.

To see more on this click http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/mar/29/lendingfigures.houseprices

A startling recent report from RICS has indicated that house price inflation is at its lowest since January 2006.

Aside from the BoE interest rate rises this can no doubt be attributed at least in part to some peculiar external market forces, such as the much postponed HIP's causing an influx of properties in May. June would thus naturally be flatter than normal as most who could sell now made every effort to put their properties on the market in May before HIP's were due to come in.

However, although this low is concerning we should also pay attention to the longer term overall trend of price increases and not just individual months as there is no doubt that the property market can still offer substantial rewards to the savvy investor.

More on this here: http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=economicIndicatorsNews&storyID=2007-07-12T090532Z_01_L12720493_RTRIDST_0_BRITAIN-RICS-UPDATE-1.XML and here: http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=breakingFundsNews&storyID=2007-07-11T160126Z_01_L11808809_RTRIDST_0_NEWSTAR-PROPERTY-FUND-VIEW.XML