Foxtons, Savills and Zoopla are among property firms whose shares are being “shorted”.

The Financial Times reported that several hedge funds have taken out short positions – “essentially bets that a company’s share price will fall”.

The FT’s report says that the hedge funds are taking out bets specifically against the London housing market.

The report adds: “While the bets are still relatively small, they represent the first sign that hedge funds have begun to move against the UK property market after several years of surging house prices, and the high-profile stock market listings of Foxtons and Zoopla.

“London house prices have risen by 50% in the past five years, according to the Office for National Statistics, but the top end of the market has wobbled in recent months as a crackdown on foreign investors and the threat of a mansion tax stirred uncertainty.

“Foxtons, a rapidly expanding chain of estate agents focused on expensive parts of the capital, went public in 2013.

“It issued a profits warning last autumn, and its sales commission in the final quarter of 2014 slumped by 25% as a result of a ‘challenging’ market.

“Zoopla’s subsidiary site PrimeLocation is the most prominent website for British luxury property sales, and a third of Zoopla’s revenues come from the London market, according to estimates by analysts at Exane BNP Paribas.

“It has also been hit recently by the launch of a rival portal, OnTheMarket, by a group of disgruntled estate agents.

“The bets against Zoopla are at their highest level since it listed in June 2014 and have risen by 42% in a month.”

The FT report says that Berkeley Group, London’s largest housebuilder, is also having its shares shorted.