A seizure in transactions caused by a dearth of decent mortgage offers. This is one description of the current state of the housing market, but the whole complex and slightly more upbeat story refuses to be so conveniently categorised.

It is difficult to summarise, for example, such diverse factors as the implications for landlords of the cannabis farms being uncovered in rental flats; Boris Johnson's schemes for the revival of the City; and the new mood among estate agents.

Suddenly the agents, canvassed monthly by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), are more chipper, although cautiously so. This follows months of often morbid utterances. From every location, agents report more inquiries; a new realism among sellers; signs that prices could be stabilising at about 25 per cent below their peak; and even, in Hackney - that scruffy but hip East London enclave - interest from first-time buyers.

But many agents also say that most of those clinching deals are the middle-aged, redirecting cash from low-paying deposit accounts. Mortgages for anyone else, they say, being more difficult to obtain than ever. Bankers have slumped to below estate agents in public esteem. This position could become permanent if the banks fail to support the housing market by boosting loan supply to the creditworthy.

Another significant development is the ability of some would-be househunters to overcome buyers' embarrassment, a new syndrome. Some people are being held back in their search for a new place by fears that they will thought to be either in denial over the likelihood of further price falls, or laden with lots of spare cash.

Open days are proving to be a way to overcome such reservations. These sessions allow you to view all the properties on one agent's books without making appointments; you simply need to register. After the success among both buyers and sellers of its recent open day in Kent, Strutt & Parker is staging another on Sunday across England.

Embarrassment is just one of the emotions being experienced by landlords who have learnt that their tenants are cultivating cannabis: police forces report a sharp rise in the incidence of this crime. A lingering smell of dope is not the only damage caused by such activities. According to the National Landlords Association, one tenant farmer demolished internal walls to install polytunnels. Landlords are being urged to carry out thorough checks on prospective tenants' credentials. This is just one of the chores faced by those now investing in properties in the hope of a better yield than that payable on a deposit account.

Luckily for buy-to-let investors, mortgage scarcity and the expected surge in the number of households means that demand for rental property from twenty and thirtysomethings is set to remain strong. In London, Mayor Johnson will be providing free office space for international corporation that relocate to the City. This policy will also stimulate the need for rental accommodation, both for fortysomething bosses and twentysomething workers.

In summary, the banks' reluctance to lend continues to be an iniquity. The housing market seems to be readjusting itself to cope with this problem, showing some signs of life that, unfortunately, only a few can exploit. For everyone else, the only green shoots around are those flourishing in a polytunnel in some hapless landlord's new investment.

Tax relief?

Will the Chancellor heed the growing campaign to suspend stamp duty until 2012 in his Budget on April 22?

Accountants think he cannot possibly afford to do so, given the much-reduced revenue from this tax and inheritance tax, too, which used to be such a handy source of cash. The awfully rich may be able to relax, however. There seems to be little chance of a new, higher stamp duty rate on homes of £1 million-plus - for the time being at least.

The budget penthouse

The “aloftment” is the credit crunch answer to the penthouse, being a low-cost, energy-efficient loft apartment with an allotment on the roof, aspirational and utilitarian all at the same time. Thanks to MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery), your body heat and heat from appliances keeps your home snug. In summer, the structure allows for natural ventilation. You walk upstairs to gather the vegetables for your supper. This concept, pictured, was unveiled this week by the architects RMJM, which say that governments in Britain and elsewhere are already interested. The grumpy, who see the allotment as a way to escape from the house to a refuge several streets away, are probably already worried.

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