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House prices are going down, make no mistake. But the reality is that the availability of funds and the restrictive terms placed on mortgages in the current climate make the first step on the property ladder the same elusive dream it was 12 months ago. If we were in any doubt as to the caution surrounding mortgage lending, the staggering 95% drop in lending in August should get any residual optimists off the fence.

So in real terms, should the first time buyer be under starter's orders in his local mortgage brokers? Or is this race more a marathon than a sprint?

Commenting on today’s Government’s announcement that it is taking action to the tune of £910 million on family fuel bills, Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said:

“Making your home more energy efficient will be easier for people now there is more money for the needy and a nationwide marketing promoting the grants on offer.  But the devil is in the detail.

“We are pushing to make sure that  the money is spent on energy saving measures that will save people the most money and carbon like insulation  There are currently about 14.3 million hom

In an attempt to give the ailing property market a shot in the arm, the government has axed stamp duty on any properties sold for less than £175,000.

We've got a new editor on our sister site Homes & Bargains who's got some great ideas on how to save money on your energy bills.

A knife-twisting report by Joey Gardiner from the Times will put further pressure on the buy-to-let / new build market as it exposed the desperation with which developers are trying to offload their portfolios. After trying every marketing ploy in the book, developers are biting the bullet and accepting that dropping prices - by up to 40% in some cases - is the only way to generate sales in the current market.

Figures released today show that the average family will have to find an additional £640 a year to cope with the effects of the credit crunch. Rising utilities, mortgage hikes and growing inflation have added £53 to the average household's monthly expenses, with increased fuel, gas and electricity prices accounting for a significant proportion of the rise.

New mortgages are also proving significantly more costly than  in 2007 - a £155,000 mortgage with a 5% deposit (the average new home loan in the UK) costs over £500 per annum more than it did 12 months ago.

Statistics released today shoe the number of repossessions went up by 41% in the first half of 2008, with experts predicting that the worst is yet to come. The number of mortgages in arrears has also seen a rise, up 20% to a total of 155,600.

With inflation and unemployment on the rise, it's widely expected for these numbers to worsen before they get better.

On Tuesday, news came through from the wires that Alistair Darling was contemplating scrapping stamp duty to help ease the financial burden on buyers and give the ailing property market a much-needed shot in the arm.

The Halifax has confirmed earlier reports from Nationwide that house prices have dropped by 1.7% over the past month, restoring the average house price to a level not seen since the summer of 2006. The news came off of the back of the Bank of England announcing that interest rates would be kept at 5% for the 4th month running amidst fears of growing inflation.

With all this talk of recession, I decided to delve into the past to see how this compared to the Wall Street Crash in 1929 and came across the archives of the Scotsman and found a great quote from Charles Mitchell, the then Chairman of the National City Bank.

In today's Evening Standard, it has been reported that the penny has finally dropped with Alistair Darling and he's clocked the fact that these are "difficult times for all of us" and is looking at ways of helping us cope, including the suspension of stamp duty on property.

One of the leading Scottish home builders, Homes for Scotland, was called for action from the Scottish parliament as it faces the highest volume of job losses "since Ravenscraig in 1992." Chief executive for the Edinburgh-based form, Jonathan Fair was quoted in the Scotsman s

Shares in Rentokil Initial fell a further nearly 5% this morning to a 52 week low of 67.25 this morning as the fallout from last week's revised profit forcast continued to cast a gloomy cloud over the service company.

In a report today in the Daily Mail, it was announced that house buyers pulling out of deals has increased to 4 in 10 as more and more buyers are failing to secure finance or losing their nerve.

Property website Rightmove has announced that asking prices in the UK have risen by an average of £2000, sparking fears of "stagnation" in the market place. As more and more sale boards go up, so too are expectations of what a property is worth, as vendors hang on to the values touted during the heady peaks of the summer of 2007. But in property's winter of discontent, sale prices have fallen and continue to fall - so for anyone looking to sell, it's time to wake up.

Alison Cork is never short of an opinion when it comes to property so it's little surprise that the budget has not passed without comment from the ProblemSolved founder. And according to Alison, saving is the new spending for anyone aiming to dabble in the property market in 2008. Click here to read the complete article.

Research has famously shown that moving house is second only to death in the stress stakes, trumping illness, loss of employment and even divorce. So anything that makes this ordeal more bearable is very welcome indeed. iammoving.com is a unique online service, that allows you to quickly and securely notify more than 1,500 organisations of your change of address. Its creators have worked out that their site saves, on average 5 hours of phone calls and letter writing. And best of all – it is completely free.
iammoving.com

The Six Nations results make for heavy reading for the English so it's conversions off the rugby field that are getting tongues wagging as more and more "movers" start to sing to the "improvers'" tune.

House prices fell for the fifth month in a row during February but there were signs demand is beginning to increase on the back of lower interest rates, figures show...

The average cost of a home in England and Wales fell by 0.2% during the month to £174,400, according to property information group Hometrack. At the same time the annual rate of house price inflation continued its downward trend to stand at just 1.4%, its lowest level since April 2006.

Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said: “Despite the continued weakness in underlying prices.

The founders of LOVEFiLM.com have launched a property search website that offers something a little different to the market leader, Rigtmove.co.uk