Is the chance to staircase up a compelling reason to buy a shared ownership flat in the current climate? Will the Tarp (Troubled Assets Relief Programme) make mortgages cheaper? Will the leverage employed by many investment bankers in their real estate deals cause problems for the whole market if they are thrown out of work and become distressed sellers?

Suddenly dinner party property conversations require a lot more familiarity with the new jargon. In between mouthfuls of such creditconscious dishes as braised brisket and turnip purée, you need to display familiarity with the factors that are now shaping the market.

Wherever you stand on the hot topic of City bonuses, for example, you should be aware that not all recipients used this cash to acquire their homes. They leveraged (borrowed) instead, being accustomed to the fat returns from employing this practice in their working lives.

Saddled with supersized mortgages and threatened with redundancy, some may now be forced to sell up in a hurry, a development that could depress prices not only in Notting Hill and other London neighbourhoods favoured by bulge-bracket (investment bank) executives but also in less swanky streets.

Should the chat turn to staircasing up, be aware that this has nothing to do with loft conversions. For the occupants of housing association shared-ownership properties, falling prices present an opportunity to increase their stake (thus staircase up) for a lower outlay.

The Government claims that shared ownership and shared equity (not synonymous, actually) represent the solution for would-be owneroccupiers on low incomes. This is a controversial stance, however, as you will learn from our guide on pages 14-15. The lack of clear information on the subject available from Communities and Local Government department suggests that ministers like the theory of wider homeownership but do not want too many people to participate in it.

The new stamp duty starting point of £175,000, intended as another boost to first-time buyers, is also missing its target. As forecast by Bricks and Mortar, the most prolific purchasers of properties below this figure are not twentysomethings, but the middle-aged types snapping up repossessions at auctions.

The ambition to be a landlord appears to be undiminished, despite the taxman's new data-matching drive. Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm, reports that the Revenue is comparing tax returns and letting agents' records for evidence of undeclared rental income.

Auctioneers are talking of a new two-tier market in lower-priced properties, with anyone who needs a mortgage in the lower tier. But this is just a euphemism. First-time buyers excluded from competitively priced loans would be better described as at the bottom of the food chain.

But such metaphors are probably bad form if turnip is on the menu at your dinner party. Change the conversation instead to the prospects for easier borrowing if Hank Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, wins support for Tarp, his $700 billion support scheme for US banks. Do not overdo the optimism, however, in light of the disquiet over this Moab (Mother Of All Bail-Outs). Some of Mr Paulson's political opponents find the idea unpalatable, but that may be a pun too far if you are eating turnip.

Face-saving energy

So far, the energy performance certificate (EPC) has failed in its commendable aim of raising ecoconsciousness. Most buyers barely glance at the document - a component of the home information pack (Hip) - which grades a home's energy efficiency. But the EPC is set to provide the perfect face-saving pretext to remove from the market a house that simply will not sell.

From next Wednesday, about 98,000 homes that were for sale before the introduction of Hips in August 2007 will need to have an EPC; the full Hip will not be necessary. Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, the estate agency, expects that about 10,000 of these properties will be withdrawn by owners who, weary of rejection, have been looking for a way out.

EPCs also become obligatory for all rented accommodation from October 1. Many landlords remain in ignorance of this, although those with well-insulated properties (which would achieve excellent EPC scores) could use these results as a way to lure tenants who like to be cosy, but also fear large fuel bills - and want to save the planet.

There has been much whining over the prices of EPCs - £50,000 for an office block, but about £80 for a flat. This figure now seems trifling in relation to recent double-digit domestic energy cost rises. For many homeowners, these increases may serve as an incentive to commission an EPC, even though they have no intention to relocate. Will the score awarded by the domestic energy assessor be the new way to compete with the neighbours this winter?

anne.ashworth@thetimes.co.uk

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