In news which may be of interest to those who are about to buy a house in Scotland, the latest housing market survey by the Royal Institutions of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) shows that the house price balance dropped to its lowest level since November 1992.
According to Rics’ figures, 49.1 per cent more chartered surveyors reported a fall than a rise in house prices in December, compared with 40.6 in November 2007.
Surveyors reported price falls across all regions in England and Wales. Only in Scotland have assessors told of price rises, which is likely to be welcomed by those about to sell a house in Scotland.
Rics spokesman Ian Perry said: "The housing market is clearly feeling the pinch from the credit crunch and the round of interest rate hikes in 2007.
"While sentiment seems to have reached its lowest ebb, the underlying economic conditions are vastly different to what the country experienced in the early 1990s."
The survey also shows that four per cent more surveyors registered a rise than a fall in new instructions to sell property, compared with seven per cent in November.
According to Knight Frank, the country house market fell by a slight 0.04 per cent in the final quarter of 2007, although Scotland saw price rises of one per cent.