Property professionals view the rate cut as a Christmas present that should restore confidence to the market in the new year, so long as further decreases follow. There is just one snag: batteries are not included.

A revival needs a ready supply of mortgages. But, after the sub-prime scandal, banks are being a little Scrooge-like with even creditworthy home-loan applicants. Anyone seeking to borrow £500,000-plus can expect a penalty in the shape of an arrangement fee of as much as £10,000.

High interbank lending rates are evidence of the reluctance of distrustful banks to lend even to each other. Estate agents say that the Bank of England must intervene to ensure that competitively priced mortgage funds become much more easily available.

The base-rate decrease is the first piece of good news for Britain’s 18.5 million property owners after a series of statistics showing sliding prices and forecasts indicating that prices would fall further next year — or be stagnant at best. Halifax reported this week that prices slipped by 1.1 per cent in November.

James Hyman of Cluttons, the estate agent, said: “This has been the first positive thing in the market for nearly four months. It will give consumers that element of reassurance they are not going to get their fingers burnt. For those who have been sitting on the fence it may just give them that little push that was needed. There is an awful lot of outstanding offers currently on properties and this might help bridge the gap where buyers have been with their offers and where vendors want to be.