With the biggest drop in home values on record, the UK housing market is in need of some emergency care. Home prices dropped 6,000 pounds last month on average to 162,096 pounds, according to Halifax. The drop in values will bring even more homes into the range of negative equity - an area where property values are lower than what is owed.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ (CML), Sue Anderson, described what falling house prices ultimately mean, saying: "The future direction of house prices remains uncertain. But house price falls exacerbate the problems that people with lower levels of equity face if they wish to move or remortgage."

Another property insider, David Hollingworth, of mortgage broker London and Country, commented on the drop in home prices, saying: "It embodies the fears in the market that prices would start to drop again and will booster talk of a double dip in the housing market."

The market has reached a very pivotal point as to falling into a double dip or not. For one, it is difficult to secure a mortgage based on more stringent lending criteria. But, an injection of new buyers into the market is just what it needs to move in the other direction.

Martin Ellis, housing economist with Halifax, remarked that it is too soon to conclude house prices are in a sustained period of falling, saying: "A shortage of properties for sale contributed to an imbalance between supply and demand and was a key factor driving up house prices last year.

"An increase in the number of properties available for sale in recent months has reduced the imbalance. At the same time, renewed uncertainty about the economy and jobs has caused consumer confidence to falter recently, dampening the demand for home purchase. Together, these factors have been exerting some downward pressure on prices in recent months."

The loss of value in home prices comes at the same time the Bank of England decided to maintain the current base rate of 0.5 per cent.