More than four out of 10 economists believe house prices in the UK will fall over the next three years, according to a survey released today.
But over 50% say they thought house prices would have risen in three years time.
The poll, commissioned by the BBC, came as the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, prepared to appear before a parliamentary committee to explain his recent warning to would-be housebuyers to be wary as prices may fall and interest rates rise.
255 members of the Society of Business Economists (SBE) were quizzed by Radio 4's Today programme in a postal survey. 42% said they expected house prices to be lower by the middle of 2007, including 18% who said they would drop by 10% or more.
Despite the divided opinions over rising or falling prices, most economists agreed however, that prices would grow more slowly than earnings over the next three years.
Speaking on the BBC programme, David Walton, chairman of SBE, said that previous periods of swift house price rises had been matched by similar increases in salaries. "This time round, that won't happen because the Bank of England will not allow wage inflation to pick up sharply," he said.
"Therefore, the only way to correct this over-valuation is an extremely long period where house prices go nowhere or, more likely, a period in which house prices actually fall modestly."
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