"They're running out of wood for all the for-sale signs," said Maskell, a former trader and analyst who lives in the borough of Westminster. "They probably need to cut rates."

Maskell is John Maskell... a manager at Barclays Global Investors, who has seen his Ascent UK Real Return Bond make 7.7% this year (compared to a 4.7% average). And for next year, he's betting that two year bonds are set to rise off the back of lower interest rates. What's particularly interesting, though, is that this is an example of Maskell going out on a limb. Mervyn King (who was last heard talking up the property market) isn't with him on this one, nor are other fund managers. A Scottish Widows manager is quoted thus:

"Those living in London have a very London-centric view of the world often collected from anecdotes on house prices from their mates at dinner parties," he said. "We think the housing market is sanguine and certainly don't think it's collapsing."

Maskell (who apparently won't buy property in London right now, even at a discount) seems positive the market is going to fall further, leaving the Bank of England with nowhere to go but Cutsville. He sounds tremendously confident. Read more, here.