The New Nation - Internet Edition

BBC, London

The slump in the property market is becoming even worse, according to a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).

Estate agents sold on average under one property per week each in September.

The number of properties being sold across the UK was the lowest since the Rics survey started in 1978 and was 52% lower than in September last year.

London was the region with fewest sales per estate agent, at an average of just eight in the previous three months.

And nationwide 91% of estate agents saw prices fall over the preceding three months.

"As it stands, only those with significant finances are in a position to access the market," said Rics spokesman Jeremy Leaf.

"The housing market continues to hold its breath and unless mortgage liquidity improves, the market is likely to remain a dormant beast for some time to come."

Lenders such as the Halifax and the Nationwide have reported that prices have fallen by 12% in the past year.

Despite this picture, Rics took some encouragement from a slight improvement in the number of new inquiries from would-be buyers, which it said was a "lead indicator" of activity. The proportion of surveyors reporting a rise in inquiries was at its best for 16 months, though they were still outnumbered by those reporting a fall.