It’s official; home sales have reached their lowest number since records began in 1978.

Estate agents are now selling an average of just one home a week as the number according to a report today.

The latest monthly report (download pdf) by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)  said the UK housing market had stalled in August due to the continued lack of finance for mortgages and the uncertainty surrounding Government plans for stamp duty.

Asked about the market in their area, 81% more surveyors said they had seen a fall rather than a rise in house prices. The majority of them also said that the number of new enquiries were also down.

What do estate agents do all day?

The 3 month figures showed surveyors averaging 12.7 sales each, while RICS said that in some areas they were reporting fewer than one sale a week! The survey also showed that the number of properties put on the market in August also fell for the eight month running. 

Surveyors said that August property sales, (traditionally slow with many of us on holiday), had ground to a halt following speculation that stamp duty might be suspended.

Last week, the government raised the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £175,000 for 12 months, meaning that almost half of house purchases are now free from the tax.

The move, which lifted half of property sales out of paying stamp duty, was part of a package to encourage first-time buyers back into the property market.

First time buyer? Read our helpful guide.

However, RICS spokesman Jeremy Leaf said more help was needed to revive the market, and urged the government to step in to help mortgage lenders saying:

"While money is scarce, many will continue to be denied the next step on the property ladder. The government's stamp duty policy will not be enough to kick-start transactions and is more likely to assist buy-to-let investors with better access to finance than the first-time buyers it was aimed at. More needs to be done to reinvigorate a market whose confidence has taken a severe knock."

The RICS survey only adds to the gloom in the housing market.

Nationwide and Halifax both reported double-digit falls in house prices in August (the fastest rate of decline since 1990) and yesterday the chief executive of Nationwide said he expected prices to fall by 25% from their peak last autumn before the market recovers.

Meanwhile, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed that the number of first-time buyers entering the market had fallen to a new low in July. Only 17,300 new buyers received mortgage approvals, compared with 33,100 in the same month last year.

So, are you surprised by the fact that home sale are only averaging one a week? Can the property market get any worse?

Why not let us know what you think in the comments?