The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) is reporting that UK house prices fell for the fourth month running in November.

According to the institution''s latest survey, house price deflation is beginning to take root with 58 per cent of its members reporting falling values over the previous three months.

Scotland is the only area in the UK where house prices are still rising and according to Rics spokesman Jeremy Leaf the apparent downturn in activity supports other recent reports that point to a sluggish market in 2008.

"The recent credit crunch continues to hit confidence in the market," he said. "However, while underlying economic fundamentals remain sound and the labour market remains strong, large falls in prices remain unlikely."

The spokesman added that inquiries from new buyers continue to fall and the decline in newly-agreed sales has now reached its fastest pace since Rics began conducting market research in 1999.

One possible source of relief surfaced last week after the Bank of England finally acquiesced to cutting the base rate of interest by 0.25 per cent.