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There were 39,900 house purchase loans in October, worth £5.5billion, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This was an increase of 14% in volume and 10% in value from September, but an annual decline of 52% in volume and 57% in value.

The rise in house purchase lending was evenly spread across first-time buyers and home movers. There were 15,400 loans to first-time buyers and 24,500 home mover loans in October, up 15% and 14% respectively from September. A modest rise would typically be expected between September and October, but uncertainty in the summer about a stamp duty holiday may also have inflated October completions compared with September.

There were 70,000 remortgage loans worth £9.4 billion, an increase of 12% in volume and 11% in value from September and a decline of 31% in volume and 28% in value from October 2007.

In a dramatic move on the stockmarket, estate agency Connells has today sold its 18% stake in property search website operator Rightmove.

Connells is reported to have sold 21.2 million shares in the company at 155 pence each - realising about £32.9million.

Rightmove shares dropped on the news - falling 16% (20p) at 163 pence by 11.30am.

With many estate agents already frustrated by the website does this sell-off signal the beginning of the end for Rightmove? Tell us what you think using the comment section below

The Office Of Fair Trading (OFT) intends to launch a market study into home buying and selling, looking at traditional estate agency models and alternative ways of buying and selling homes.

Ahead of this, the OFT is writing to stakeholders to ask for their views and engage with them to discuss the scope and scale of the study, which will commence in early 2009.

The OFT proposes that the market study should take a comprehensive look at home buying and selling in terms of:

* Competition on price and quality between service providers;
* Prospects for new entry by, in particular, internet property retailers, and;
* Extent to which consumer interests are protected by the existing regulatory framework.

The culture of home ownership, as an ideal lifestyle, has pushed millions of people into unnecessary debt – according to the Residential Landlords Association.

Because the belief that it is the only "done thing" to own your own home ignores the reality that many people just cannot afford to buy a house.

Instead, the housing market would be better served by increasing the number of properties for rent.

With the Government's bank bail-out yet to affect any real change in credit availability - to even the most credit-worthy - Borro.com said it was doubling its loan book every month.

In the last two months Borro.com has seen a significant increase in business owners, property developers, and city financiers plugging their credit short-falls by securing loans of £10,000-plus against fine jewellery, high-end Swiss watches, luxury cars including Ferraris, Bentleys and Lambourghinis, fine art and even yachts.

Renting a home in the UK will no longer be a taboo in 2009, according to James Davis, founder and CEO of online property rental website www.upad.co.uk.

He predicts that the UK property market is heading towards the European model where it is common for people to rent, as opposed to buy somewhere to live.

Davis sees various factors contributing to this trend:

• The UK will see interest rates fall still further than the 57-year low of 4 December 2008;
• Rents will also stabilise (having fallen 8% in the past year);
• House prices will continue to fall, potentially by another 15%.