Times: Property market grinds to a halt amid mortgage drought

The housing market ground to a virtual standstill last month as the drought in the mortgage market helped to drive down the number of homes changing hands to levels not seen for four decades, a key survey shows today.
In the latest symptom of dire housing market conditions, the average number of property sales handled by surveyors across the country tumbled to fewer than five a month, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
In a rare dose of more positive news, the RICS survey shows that the proportion of surveyors reporting falling house prices was lower last month, for a third month in a row. Some 83.9 per cent more surveyors still said that prices had fallen in July than said they had increased, compared to 94.7% in April.