Countrywide, Britains biggest estate agency, has revealed that it is currently selling up to 30% fewer homes than this time last year. Countrywide, which owns the Bairstow Eves, John D Wood and Mann & Co estate agency chains said it would make a loss for the first quarter of this year.

Chairman Christopher Sporborg said the group had "made quite a lot of profit, around £14m before tax" in the first quarter of 2004.

But the volume of transactions between January and March this year was down between 25% and 30% on the previous year and "considerably less than one would expect".