There's been another drop in house prices – and it's the fourth decline in five months. According to the Nationwide Building Society's monthly House Price Index there was a 2.6% dip across the year. The average cost of a house in Britain is now £164,389. 0.7% less than June's average house price. The recession's been biting though, which means demand's been easing off. And there less affordable residential property around, with many people simply unable to afford to save for the high deposits that banks are looking for.

Britain's financial institutions are still dragging their feet about releasing more affordable credit to consumers: too busy keeping their safes tightly shut, many of them scared about the crisis across Europe. But it's hoped that credit easing schemes like the Bank of England's Funding For Lending scheme will eventually encourage banks to offer lower mortgage deposit rates to customers who want them.