More people want house prices to fall than to rise, BBC research has found. That is the surprise finding of the first poll to test the assumption that house price falls are unpopular and therefore politically damaging.

Barely a fifth of people want house prices to rise - fewer than the number of people who want them to fall.

The poll of 1,005 people, commissioned by the BBC, found that only 22% said they wanted prices to go up while 28% said they wanted house prices to fall.

The poll, carried out by ICM, canvassed people over a three-day period from 25 to 27 April.

Nearly half of the people who responded, or 46%, said they wanted them to stay the same. The findings cast doubt on whether the political and economic damage done by falling prices is as serious as has been feared.

SafeTrade, Local Registered, Approved and Recommended Builders, Plumbers, Electricians, Plasterers, Joiners, Decorators, Roofers and Glaziers etc. Middlesbrough website launch www.safetrade.org.uk/middlesbrough