The number of house sales fall 11pc in 2011 According to figures from HMRC, this was the lowest number of property sales since 2009, when they slumped to a record low of 848,000. "If you have very poor levels of credit availability, for first-time buyers and people moving home, you are going to get low levels of sales taking place," said Geoff Meen, professor of economics at the University of Reading. The Council of Mortgage Lenders said that it expected 2012 to feature similar restrictions, suggesting that sales will be even lower this year. Adrian Coles, of the Building Society Association said that he did not expect sales to return to pre-recession levels any time soon. "This is not just a cyclical downturn where we will see a recovery in a year or two - there are some fundamental changes that have occurred," he said. Next year, the Financial Services Authority will ban mortgages in excess of the value of the property which many people believe triggered to the credit crunch.