Britain''s housing sector is witnessing a gentle slowdown and is unlikely to experience a sharp crash, according to a leading expert.

A Treasury official has stated that the UK''s housing market indicators remain mixed, but the overall pattern emerging is one of a slowdown occurring, Reuters reports.

"We''re certainly not expecting a disorderly correction in the housing market," the official stated. "We''ve never been expecting a fall in house prices."

Despite a series of five interest rate rises since August 2006 and the recent global ''credit crunch'', the government insists that the property market is highly unlikely to experience a crash. Experts suggest that a sharp fall in property prices at this point could seriously destabilise the wider economy.

The International Monetary Fund has suggested that the UK is among a number of European nations in which house prices "seem elevated", while chancellor Alistair Darling has predicted a slowdown over the coming months and stated that lenders need to be "realistic" about customers'' ability to make repayments when issuing home loans.