After the big, unavoidable rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, otherwise known as the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, attention has switched to these shores. On the face of it, it could not be simpler: if a Republican government in the home of capitalism can bail out its mortgage market, surely a Labour government in Britain cannot be far behind?

That may yet be what happens, and we will find out soon enough. Sir James Crosby, the former chief executive of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), was asked to review the issue by Alistair Darling and will submit his recommendations by the end of the month. If he calls for the government to kick-start the wholesale mortgage markets with an implicit government guarantee, it will be hard for the chancellor not to do so in his prebudget report next month.

These things are never simple, however. While the lenders want the government to help unfreeze the market, they do not want it to do so on terms that hobble them for years to come. The Treasury, mindful of the accusation that taxpayers’ money could be put at risk by bailing out irresponsible lenders, is insisting on tough conditions for assistance. Will the gap be closed? As I say, it is hard to see Darling coming up with nothing next month. Equally, it is difficult to see anything he announces being a “silver bullet” for Britain’s mortgage and housing markets.

That is certainly the view of Graham Beale, chief executive of the Nationwide building society. Last weekend, Andy Hornby, HBOS’s chief executive, warned that the housing market would continue to be severely affected by the credit crunch until 2010. Beale said much the same last week, adding the bombshell that he expects prices to fall by as much as 25% peak to trough. In other words, Britain’s two biggest mortgage lenders have written off 2009.

Beale’s outbreak of candour was surprising - “gobsmacked” would best describe the response from fellow lenders and estate agents. The latter are finding life tough enough - the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says sales per agent in the past three months have averaged just one a week - without a leading light in the industry giving potential buyers another reason to hold off. Not very clever.

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