Transactions have plummeted, construction workers are being laid off, developers are mothballing sites, estate agents are struggling to pay the bills, mortgages are hard to find and the market is in a state of paralysis with repossessions looming.

Everyone is suffering, from the obvious victims like estate agents and developers to architects, surveyors, tradespeople and building industry suppliers.

The only people who are smiling are the handful of economists, saying: "I told you so", and even they didn't predict how and why the good times would come to such an abrupt end.

"It's true that the market conditions are brutal out there, and it's much worse than the '91 to '94 recession," says estate agent Kevin Hollinrake of Yorkshire-based Hunters Property Group.

"In some ways it's not a surprise. The market is cyclical. We did very well for 15 years, we lived off the fat of the land and we knew it was going to end, though the way it has ended has come as a surprise. It came so quickly, no-one saw it coming.

"In the early 1990s, there was a protracted slow down, but not this time. Transactions have gone into meltdown, though prices haven't and neither are we seeing a lot of repossessions like we did in the '90s when there was high unemployment."

The problem, he says, can be laid squarely at the door of the banks and building societies, who have tightened their lending criteria.

Like other old hands, Kevin weathered the last property recession, and they were hard times with doom-mongers relishing every miserable moment.

"I can remember that back then, like now, everyone was proclaiming the death of the housing market, saying we'd become a nation of renters. Of course, it never happened and it won't happen this time. We'll tough it out."

John Robson, residential conveyancing manager at Ford and Warren Solicitors in Leeds, agrees.

His own department has halved its staff through natural wastage, but is doing well thanks to loyal private clients.

Competitors reliant on bulk introductions from estate agents are suffering and are making redundancies.

"It's hard. We've all got to batten down the hatches, streamline and look at other ways of enhancing the business. It's tough but I think this needed to happen because prices had gone up at alarming rates."

He believes that the market will continue to struggle this year and next, but will pick up after that. However, he doesn't think that prices will rise for five years.

Developer Richard Binks, of Mirfield-based Binks Vertical, is bullish and he's entitled to be because he's built homes through property recessions in the 1970s and the 1990s.

"What's happening now is a bit scary and it happened so quickly, but I've been building for 40 years and I've been through all this before. The answer for developers is to beat the market by giving 'wow factor' and quality because that will always sell,"
he says.

He is delaying his latest development, Blakeridge Village in Batley, for six months, but is adding a 25 metre pool and gym and has created a scheme where first-time buyers can save a good deposit for two years before getting a mortgage.

"The credit crunch is annoying, but if it teaches people to be less reliant on credit and live within their means that's not a bad thing," he says.

There are other silver linings. The lettings business is doing well, and there are good deals on offer for those in a position to buy.

Chris Jones, deputy chairman of Carey Jones Architects in Leeds, says that the climate will also make property-based businesses more entrepreneurial.

"We, like a lot of architects, have looked abroad for work and now 50 per cent of our business is from overseas," he says. He also believes that this is a dip rather than a recession.

"This is a local difficulty caused by the starvation of funds by the banks, but it is not a huge economic downturn like the last recessions. I think if the Bank of England lowers interest rates, it would lift the market.

Ilkley-based estate agent Simon Thornton agrees: "Not everyone is a loser. I've just been to see a two bedroom terrace in Ilkley that was on the market for £179,00 at the height of the property boom and the price is now £159,000 and could be picked up for £155,000. It would make a great home for a first- time buyer."


THE EXPERTS' VIEW...


Simon Thornton says: "In the golden triangle around Leeds, Harrogate and York, we have financially sophisticated would-be buyers who are sitting on their hands waiting for the market to bottom out. I think prices have a little bit further to fall this year and when they do buyers will start offering on properties and I think that will kick start the recovery. We won't see a housing boom then but we will see a steady market."


Richard Binks says the market will recover in 18 months to two years and predicts that house prices will double again within 10 years. "It's about supply and demand. The fact is that with immigration, people living longer and more divorces, we haven't got enough housing in
this country."


Kevin Hollinrake believes that when the market picks up it will
do so as quickly as it plummeted. "Best case scenario I think will be when the banks start to lend and that could be at the end of this year. If that happens, the market will revive in spring next year. Worst case is if the banks keep lending tight and then I think it could be two or three years before we see recovery."


Chris Jones, veteran of the last two property downturns, says: "I think things will get worse by the end of the year but I think in the middle of next year there will be positive signs. The fundamentals that underpin the market are still strong and I know lots of developers who are waiting for the right opportunity to buy." He also offers this advice: "We have to look on the bright side and keep going with a joyous heart and fullness
of spirit."