ALMOST half of British people are convinced the property market is heading for a major crash within the next five years.

A new survey asked people to say if, and when, they believed the UK housing market would experience a catastrophic downfall.

Some 45 per cent of these said the market could crash, with home prices tumbling, in five years.

The YouGov survey, conducted for property marketplace TheHouseShop, offered a range of timescales for respondents to choose from.

Just four per cent of people thought there would be a housing crash in the next year, but 17 per cent thought there could be one in the next two years.

The results also shows that 60 per cent believe there will be a price crash in the next 10 years, 65 per cent within 15 years, 66 per cent within 20 years and 67 per cent in more than 20 years.

A regional breakdown of the survey results shows that people in London were most pessimistic about the future of the housing market, with 55 per cent predicting a crash within five years.

The poll also shows a generational divide. Respondents in the 55-plus age group were far more confident in the stability of the market when compared to younger people.

More than 40 per cent of those aged 55 and over said there would not be a crash in future, compared to half that amount for respondents aged 25 to 34.