Gloom descends on British property sector after boom years

LONDON (AFP) — Britain's once-booming housing market is slumping and faces the prospect of an even sharper downturn owing to the global credit crunch, according to economists.

The housing market unravelled further last week, with house prices tumbling at their fastest annual rate for 15 years and homebuilders announcing that more than 4,000 jobs had been axed in the industry since the start of 2008.

The stubborn credit crunch, which began almost one year ago, has slammed the brakes on property markets around the Western world, not least in the United States, but also in France, Ireland and Spain.

"The latest data on the (British) housing market continue to be very worrying and there appears to be no let up in the current downward spiral," said Global Insight economist Howard Archer.

Many cash-strapped Britons, already feeling the pinch from high fuel and food prices, find it increasingly ...