Housebuilders' shares suffered their biggest fall in a single day since the start of the downturn, shedding more than a tenth of their value as investors took stock of yet more gloomy news and analysis.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said 92.9 per cent more estate agents reported a fall than a rise in house prices, and every region tracked by Rics showed prices declining over the past three months. Brokers' notes later reinforced the downbeat mood.