Rarely has sentiment towards residential property deteriorated so dramatically, even though the news flow on the economy is still generally positive.

While the November RICS survey showed surveyors at their most negative on house prices and agreed sales since May 2005 and April 1999 respectively, the labour market figures for the same month showed the claimant count measure of unemployment falling to its lowest level in more than thirty years.

Some slowdown in house price inflation had been widely anticipated in the latter part of 2007, as past interest rate increases filtered through more fully into borrowing costs.

This was already being felt through a drop in new buyer enquiries.

But there is no escaping the significance of the subsequent fall-out from the Northern Rock episode and, more importantly, the shift in lending criteria from providers of mortgage finance.

To read the full 2008 Housing Market Forecast from RICS, please access the PDF Download panel to the right of this page.

An index of the monthly RICS Housing Market Survey can be accessed at www.rics.org/hms.