The Bank of England''s decision to keep the base rate at five per cent will not help the faltering housing market, a leading property expert has said.

Results of Halifax''s house price index showed that house prices were down 2.4 per cent in May, down 3.8 per cent on the previous year.

Mortgage approval rates also took a dramatic downturn at the end of last year, with first-time buyers finding it more difficult to get a foot on the property ladder, according to the BBC.

Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, said: "Maintaining rates at five per cent is not at all helpful for the UK housing market.

"The market remains under very significant pressure at the moment, year on year sales volumes are down by more than 50 per cent and prices have fallen by seven per cent since the peak in October last year."

Halifax said figures from its recent study should be kept in context.

It said the value of property had gone up by 79 per cent over the last five years, with the average house price increasing by more than £88,000 between August 2002 and August 2007.