British housing slump 'will impact economy'

A slump in British home sales this year is set to take a damaging toll on the wider UK economy as the credit crunch bites, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) warned today.

Housing sales could fall at least 40% this year as would-be buyers struggle to gain mortgage deals from more cautious lenders, according to RICS' latest housing forecasts.