The number of homes changing hands plunged in August, with some estate agents selling only one home a week, as the number of first-time buyers dwindled to record lows.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that, on average, estate agents made 12.7 sales in three months to August, the lowest activity since it began tracking transactions in 1978.

It also emerged today that the number of first-time buyers taking out a new mortgage in July fell by 48 per cent compared with last year and by 5 per cent against the month before.

Only 17,300 borrowers took out a new home loan in July, compared with 18,200 in June and 33,100 in July last year.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) also revealed that the average first-time buyer had a 15 per cent deposit in July, ahead of 13 per cent the month before, as banks continue to tighten their lending criteria for borrowers.

Redrow, the UK housebuilder, today laid some of the blame for falling sales on cautious banks after it disclosed that forward orders for new homes had fallen by 45 per cent on the same period last year.

In a move to conserve cash, the company axed its final dividend, leaving investors wil just an interim payout for the full year.

Redrow reported full-year revenue down by 22 per cent to £650 million, while £121.1 million in profit last year turned into a £193.9 million loss after a £259.4 million writedown on the value of its land and ongoing projects.

RICS blamed the slump in activity on speculation surrounding the Government’s recent changes to stamp duty as well as the difficulty in securing an affordable mortgage.

A spokesman at RICS said: “A lack of mortgage liquidity is the key issue which is keeping the housing market from showing any real sign of recovery.

“While money is scarce, many will continue to be denied the next step on the property ladder.”

The findings come just hours after it emerged that Alistair Darling is preparing to intervene to revive the property market.

The Times revealed today that the Chancellor is considering an extension of the Bank of England’s Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS), which would help lenders to raise more funds by allowing them to swap mortgage-backed bonds for more tradable Treasury bills.

The options are expected to be contained in a key report by Sir James Crosby, the former chairman of HBOS, which will be handed to the Chancellor by the end of the month.

Mr Darling, who yesterday said that the US Government's £110 billion bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would help the British economy, is also thought to be keen on the creation of a government guarantee for high-quality mortgage securities.

A guarantee would make it easier for lenders to sell on their loans and increase the money available for lending to new customers.

RICS said that it was clear that more government action was needed as the decision last week to exempt homebuyers paying up to £175,000 from stamp duty would “not do enough to kick-start transactions”.

“More needs to be done to reinvigorate a market whose confidence has taken a severe knock," the spokesman said.

The RICS survey showed that most surveyors reported falling house prices in August but added that the level of decline appeared to be easing.

Money Central: the latest house price data for your area

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