Finally, the predictions are coming true - the housing slow down is now a definite reality, according to a number of figures released today.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), British Bankers Association (BBA) and Building Societies Association (BSA) all said mortgage lending was slowing.
CML figures showed gross lending fell by 4% in November as the number of people buying new homes fell.
Elsewhere, the BBA added underlying mortgage lending rose by ��4m in November, compared to October's ��4.29m.
The CML said that loans for new property purchases fell 25% year-on-year to 85,000 - the lowest total seen since February 2003.
Data from the CML showed lending fell to just over ��25bn in November, from ��25.5bn a year earlier.
Separate figures from the Building Societies Association showed the value of mortgage approvals -- loans agreed but not yet made -- stood 32% lower than at the same time last year, at a seasonally-adjusted ��2.98bn.
The figures come hot on the heels of new data from property website Rightmove which suggested owners must indulge in a "winter sale" and slash prices by up to 8%.
Miles Shipside, commercial director at Rightmove, said sellers would have to be "more realistic with their asking prices" to tempt buyers.
The average asking price of a home fell by more than ��600 from ��190,329 in November to ��189,733 in December, while the length of time it takes to sell a home rose to 81 days from 53 in the summer.
The figures come at a time when the US housing market - also having an experienced a boom, was showing clear signs of going into reverse:
Housing prices: gone into reverse
