House prices will fall by five per cent during 2008, it has been predicted.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money programme, Ian Stewart, associate director of research at Deloitte, claimed that weakened demand for property will result in the decrease.
"I think a lot will depend on what happens to unemployment, and if we do see sharp rises in unemployment I think that is likely to put downward pressure on prices," Mr Steward explained.
His comments follow data released by property website Hometrack showing that house prices fell for a fourth consecutive month in January.
The average price of buying a home fell by 0.3 per cent, bringing the year-on-year growth rate to +2.3 per cent, the lowest figure since June 2006.
It also found that the average home took around 8.5 weeks to sell, the highest level since the survey began in 2001.
© Adfero Ltd