Considering that records only started being kept 17 years ago, the situation could even be a great deal worse than that. With house-purchase approvals already at their lowest level on record and executive/consumer confidence in Europe still at a three-year low, the average price of a house has again slipped, marking seven full months of declines and the longest downward slope since the housing recession of 1992. So, do you know how much an average home in the U.K. now costs?

The slump in Britain's house prices accelerated in May to the fastest level since the Nationwide began records 17 years ago.

The price of an average house fell 2.5 per cent in the month, making the seventh consecutive monthly fall in prices, the longest downward slope since the housing recession of 1992.

In the year, 4.4 per cent has been wiped off the value of homes, the biggest annual fall since December 1992 when the price fall reached 6.3 per cent.

The price of a typical house is now £173,583 -- £8,000 less than this time last year.

Fionnuala Earley, the Nationwide's chief economist said that it should be borne in mind that rising house prices up until last year means that even now prices are still 5 per cent higher than two years ago and 10 per cent higher than three years ago.

She added that she hoped the Bank of England would now resolve to cut rates: "Problems in credit markets have clearly been the trigger for changing fortunes in the housing market and while it is never wise to place too much weight on one data point, the apparent speed of the adjustment may lead the Bank of England's MPC to look more closely at the balance of risks to inflation in the medium term.

"Stronger than expected inflation appears to have shattered hopes of an early cut in the Bank Rate in June, but more downbeat economic and housing market data could lead more MPC members to join David Blanchflower in voting for pre-emptive cuts."

She said there was now mounting evidence of a downturn in the housing market. "The Bank of England reported an 11 per cent monthly drop in house purchase approvals in March to reach a seasonally adjusted 64,000 - the lowest since records began in 1993. RICS estate agents reported the most widespread regional falls in house prices in the history of their series.

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