It was the week when things got nasty for housebuilders. Sector sweetheart Persimmon put its foot down and said it was not starting on new sites until the banks started dishing out mortgages more readily.

The City was rattled and its share price dropped 6.4% on the day and was still languishing at 595p early this week. That meant our imaginary £100 investment become £81.

Harder hit was Barratt. Our stake was reduced to £68 on Tuesday as the share price fell to 279p. It was 1,090p this time last year. Ouch. Murmurs resurfaced about a rights issue and Dresdner Kleinwort analyst Alastair Stewart bluntly told investors to “get out before 14 May” – the date of its next trading update.

Elsewhere, Galliford Try boss Greg Fitzgerald clearly thought the company’s troubles were behind it: he and his wife snapped up 600,000 shares. Galliford’s price had fallen 65% over the past six months. Surely now the only way is up?