House prices fell by 2.2% from August to September, putting the average price of a property at £168,814 according to the latest data from the Land Registry. Annually by these figures prices have now fallen by 8% with sales volumes continuing to decrease into the winter.

There is also further decline in London, says the report, where annual house price change currently stands at -6.1% which is a smaller figure than that of England and Wales as a whole but larger than the previous month’s annual figure; the monthly fall for September was 1.5%.

This data is seen as conclusive to those who anticipate continued gloom for the market. Seema Shah from Capital Economics said: ‘In time, the Government’s recapitalisation plan may help to ease the mortgage credit squeeze. And the interest rate cuts we expect will help to reduce the number of households who fall into arrears. However, with expectations of further house price falls widespread and the economy on course to contract for two years at least, this will not be enough to prevent the housing market correction from intensifying.’