Suddenly lots of people are talking about buying houses; many fewer are actually doing so. This is almost the exact opposite of the current state of the retail trade, as was revealed this week: people are shopping, but not shouting about it, for fear of offending credit-crunched friends.

Most respondents to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) monthly survey of its members reported an increase in interest from would-be buyers; in some cases, viewings have quadrupled. One agent in Devon even felt sufficiently emboldened to declare: “We see green shoots.”

One reason why this hubbub in the previously empty offices of agents is not resulting in more transactions is that the offers being made are falling short of owners' expectations.

Peter Mackie, of Property Vision, a firm that scouts out homes for those too busy to find their own, discerns that some sellers are reluctant to slash their prices because they have a hunch that the market is close to its lowest point and that values could climb within months.

Mr Mackie believes that it is too early to call the bottom of the market but he has noticed the emergence of a new kind of buyer: the person affronted by the falls in rates on deposit accounts. These reductions have made these individuals feel pretty sore towards the Halifax, but they are not as angry as other buyers denied a mortgage by this bank or any of its peers.

Most of the RICS members say that deals are not being done because finance is not yet flowing as promised many months ago. The controversy surrounding Sir James Crosby, the man charged by the Treasury with improving mortgage supply, seems set to further delay any improvement.

Sir James, former CEO of HBOS, owner of the Halifax, has been accused of sacking a man who claimed the bank was taking excessive risks. Sir James contests the accusation in a row that illustrates yet again how the way in which banks made decisions in the past will continue to be the largest influence on homebuyers for a while yet.

Give me shelter

The camera tracks through streets where houses of cards are collapsing; the background music is a downbeat track from the socially-aware band Radiohead. If this new advertisement from the charity Shelter (view it on www.shelter.org.uk/cards) does not focus your attention on the dangerous repercussions of rising repossessions, then next Friday's figures will.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) will confirm that there were 45,000 repossessions in 2008. But it believes that this year's total could be 75,000, despite Ministry of Justice data indicating that lenders are showing a level of lenience towards borrowers in arrears.

Moreover, the CML's statistics may be understated by as much as 20 per cent. For they do not include the evictions of those struggling to repay second charge loans advanced by unscrupulous finance groups - whose TV advertising is upbeat but whose debt collection methods are lowdown.

The scale of the problem is already greater than the scope of government help, which is not the extensive safety net portrayed by ministers. For example, 10,000 households at most will be aided by the mortgage rescue scheme, under which people sell their homes to a housing association and stay on as tenants. Similar sale-and-leaseback arrangements are offered by private sector firms, some of which are urging the desperate to give up now before their debts grow larger rather than rely on lenders' benevolence. But this advice is prompted more by the desire to acquire properties at knockdown prices than by the welfare of customers who may not be entitled to remain their homes for more than six months. Fortunately, the Financial Services Authority will start to police these businesses in July - which ought to limit the damage being caused by their activities.

The Government needs to do more, however, including allowing more people to claim mortgage income support that would be paid back later. This week The Times revealed that the courts were ignoring a law that entitles borrowers facing the loss of their homes to repay their debts over the remaining mortgage term rather than the two to four-year stay of execution usually given. Family breakdowns and further damage to the housing market would be the consequence of more repossessions. The Government cannot afford either.

A credit-crunch shade of pale

The large paper lampshade, once the emblem of the low rent shared flat is fashionable again, as it declares thriftiness. You can acquire the Regolit style at Ikea for just £1.56, although Habitat is now providing more expensive variations. If, however, the paper shade smacks too much of the minimalism from which you have been trying to escape, turn to our Bollywood chic feature. For you should know that flock, almost as derided as the paper shade, is also back.

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