Housebuilder Countryside Properties issued its third negative trading statement in five months last week.

The firm sold 915 homes in the year ended 30 September 2004 鈥� 17% fewer than the 1100 that it had anticipated. It said an 鈥渦ncertain environment鈥� still existed in the market.

In a profit warning issued to the stock exchange on 23 September, Countryside estimated that, a week before the financial year end, it would sell about 950 homes.

A spokesperson for the company said: 鈥淎t the time of the last statement Countryside was expecting things to come through, but they didn鈥檛.鈥�

The statement will do nothing to calm City jitters about the housing market. Shares in volume housebuilder George Wimpey dropped 10p in one day after it warned the market that it was experiencing 鈥渕ore challenging鈥� conditions.

In its latest statement Countryside, whose chairman Alan Cherry is leading a proposed management buyout, said: 鈥淧otential homebuyers at present appear reluctant to commit to buy or overstretch themselves to do so 鈥� an uncertain environment still exists.鈥�

It added that it would increase advertising and buyer incentives, 鈥渋f considered appropriate鈥�, to achieve sales targets.

Its shares dropped 4.5p to 269p after the announcement last Friday.

Analysts at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said that the statement was not helpful to other housebuilders: 鈥淭he group could destabilise the market. Most investors will see Countyside鈥檚 problems as largely self-generated, we believe. But it hardly serves to raise confidence in the sector.鈥�

As the market cools, Cherry and the Countryside board continue to try to raise cash for the buyout. Speculation of a rival bid increased this week as the mysterious

Rock Pacific raised its stake in the company to 10.25%.

There was further evidence of the slowing market from Rightmove this week. Its October house price index published on Monday revealed that the rate of price inflation continued to fall in October, that unsold homes rose to a 30-month high and that homes took longer to sell.

Rightmove said that the annual rate of increase in asking prices dropped 鈥渟harply鈥� from 16.4% to 13.4%.