Homeowners will not be cheered by the news that house prices fell by 1.6% during February, according to Government figures.

Communities and Local Government (CLG) said annual house price growth also continued its downward trend, falling to 6.7%, its lowest level for 19 months.

The figures came as data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed house price falls were gathering pace.

A record 78.5% of surveyors reported a drop in the value of property during March, overtaking figures set during the 1990s house price crash.

The situation looks set to continue deteriorating with new buyer inquiries falling for the 16th month in a row during February and at the fastest pace since March 2003.

CLG said the fall in prices had been driven by a 2.9% drop in the cost of flats, while detached and semi-detached homes lost 1.5% of their value, the cost of terraced properties fell by 1.1% and the price of bungalows was 0.6% lower.

Flats are typically first-time buyer properties, and the fact that these saw the biggest fall suggests people taking their first step on to the property ladder are continuing to be hit by the credit crunch.

The average cost of a home in the UK stood at £217,737 at the end of February, its lowest level since June last year.

The Government figures showed that the annual rate of house price growth fell in 10 of the UK's 12 economic regions, with only the North West and West Midlands seeing a rise.

The most dramatic falls were in Northern Ireland, where annual house price inflation more than halved from 8.4% to 3.7% in the space of a month, and Wales where it dived from 7.4% to 3.8%.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at Global Insight, said: "The RICS survey in particular adds to the litany of worrying news on the housing market, and Global Insight now expects house prices to fall by 7% in 2008 and 8% in 2009.

"Furthermore, the recent escalation of the credit crunch and current rapidly deteriorating sentiment over the housing market heightens the risk that house prices could fall by 20% or more over the next couple of years."

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