At the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park, London, on Sunday afternoon, affluent young professionals queued to have their purchases bubble-wrapped, apparently unconcerned by the far-reaching consequences on both sides of the Atlantic of the impending demise of Bear Stearns.

One visitor trying to make his way through the cheery throng at the event, where attendance hit a record and affordability was a relative concept, wondered out loud why these “investment banker and hedge fund people” did not look more scared.

But although the sale of Bear Stearns is the most serious indication yet of how sub-prime slime is spreading everywhere, killing off things on which we have learnt to rely, such as a ready supply of mortgage finance, the pain will not be shared equally. The impact will be greatest for the less well-off who either aspire to, or have just achieved, homeownership. There will now be even fewer half-decent home loan deals either for overextended home buyers hoping to remortgage, or for would-be owner-occupiers not clutching a large deposit. Even the creditworthy could face refusal.

The Easter weekend is traditionally the time when the housing market gets a spring in its step. This year the only people who will not be hesitant are those fearless investors who believe in buying before you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Related Internet Links

• Property guides

A guide to househunting on the web

Househunting goes high-tech: technology is transforming the way we search for our next home. Our buyers test-drive top property websites

• A step-by-step guide to selling your home

• Gumtree founder, Simon Crookall, puts his £1.5m home for sale online

BACKGROUND

• Why can’t we sell our home?

• ‘I didn’t want a profit; I just wanted out’

• How to sell your home in a hurry

BACKGROUND

• Overseas property: where, how and what to buy

• How to get onto the property ladder

• Guide to buying above a shop

BACKGROUND

• How to sell your home

• Buying a property at auction

• Home improvement

• Eco homes

• Step-by-step guide to buying your first property

Related Links

• First-time buyers hit as lenders pull plug

• Opening bids: the Government is in a fix - one of 25 years

• High street banks hold out their begging bowls

Anxieties about redundancies in the City will mean the values of London houses between £1 million and £3 million where bankers reside will be hit. But most of those who stay employed will have a cushion of equity. They also have the long-term reassurance that there is a shortage of family houses in Central London and the most sought-after suburbs.

However great the impact of the Bear Stearns affair, no one out home shopping this weekend should expect to see prices plummeting. Sellers continue to be reluctant to cut asking prices: it can take as long as a year to accept that values have fallen. Meanwhile, banish the idea that Georgian rectories are about to become bargains. There is a dearth of such properties and the buyers pay cash: one unchanging thing in a much altered climate.

Explore Property

• Buying & Selling

• New Homes

• Overseas

• Interiors

• Investment

• Gardens

• Cool In Your Code

• Specials

• First-time buyer

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers