Jobs are coming under threat in the commercial property market owing to the sharp downturn in values and the effects of the credit crunch according to Saturday's Financial Times.

Investment banks, including Bear Stearns and UBS, are understood to have cut staff in areas such as UK commercial property lending and real estate debt packaging, while strains have also begun to emerge in the property services market.

Property recruitment consultants say staff hirings have dried up in many areas as the UK market has stalled over the past quarter.

Staff comprise the bulk of costs in property services, and managers are now worried that the industry could see redundancies as early as this quarter.

Yesterday, the property consultant NB Real Estate said it would freeze its annual bonus payments for December and March.

Alastair Hughes, European chief executive at Jones Lang LaSalle, estimated that deal volumes fell by up to 50% in the last quarter.