Uncertainty is often worse than bad news - when we know that something has gone wrong, then we can deal with it: not knowing is destabilising, and we then defer action. One serious legacy from the Blair/Brown years is that we mistrust public information and statistics, so we are uncertain about the economy and by extension the property market.

We do know that interest rates are artificially low, and must increase; taxation is increasing; a General Election is looming; housebuilding has ground to a halt - after several years of building too many flats and not enough houses; and locally there is what estate agents describe as a "chronic" shortage of houses for sale.

Also we know that the banks remain short of capital to lend; mortgages are still difficult to obtain, most notably for the selfemployed. HIPs add nothing but cost to the house sales process, and stamp duty levels are prohibitive to purchasers. The nation is in a desperate financial position and unemployment remains a problem. Please don't jump off the roof!

What we don't know is what this means to the local property market.

For sales, my best guess is that prices and interest rates will stay pretty much as they are for 2010, which is fine; but transactions may remain at low levels and uncertainty for the future at a high level, which is not so fine.

For property rentals, we have seen local people letting out their homes here, and renting in new locations: also families renting out their homes in London etc, and becoming tenants in this area - partly to make sure that they are taking the right decision and partly to defer the buying/selling process in such uncertain times: back to my first comment.

I will be testing the local property market myself in the next few weeks - watch this space for honest feedback!