CML predicts fall in house sales

Activity in the housing market is set to decrease with significantly fewer houses expected to be sold this year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

House sales for the rest of the year in England and Wales are expected to total 770,000, a 35 per cent decrease on the previous year.

Mortgage lenders have withdrawn many of their deals due to the credit crunch which has meant fewer people can afford to move home.

CML director general Michael Coogan said: "In the wake of the credit crunch, 2008 will be remembered as a very weak year in the housing market."

Along with a shrinking mortgage market, rising food and fuel costs has seen confidence in the UK economy plummet.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) house sales could fall by as much as 40 per cent this year.


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