The number of properties sold at auction hit a three-year low amid a credit squeeze, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) says.

In the final three months of 2007, some 57% of properties were sold after being put up for auction, compared with 69% in the same period of 2006, Rics said.

Total sales were also down, although it remained a popular way to sell homes, according to Rics.

House price rises have stalled in subsequent months, other surveys show.

The Rics figures show 4,539 properties were sold in the final quarter of 2007 at auction, a fall of 9% compared with the same period the previous year and also down 9% on the previous three months.

That left 3,310 properties unsold, a 50% rise more than in there months running from October to the end of December in 2006.

Posted: 03|3|08 at 2:13 pm. Filed under: UK News.