British housing market bust?

Are we going to see a British housing market bust? The housing market has certainly frozen up with the lenders tightening their criteria. For instance, there are no more
100 pct plus loans and we have not really felt the knock-on effect of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley hitting trouble. The missus' share stake in B & B has such a forlorn value that I have to wonder when the shares will ever recover.
www.searchifa.co.ukFirst-time buyers should be helped by a reduction in stamp duty but a thoughtful article (sorry harrowing article) in the New Statesman says that nobody should be considering a property purchase at the moment. I suppose we just have to sit out the next two years but the Labour Government has always wanted a buoyant housing market for the feel-good factor during general elections, so 2010 anybody?
Northern Rock could hit a real financial mess if the housing market goes down and the Government now probably wished that it was not so picky about Lloyds TSB. Northern Rock is also undermining the stability of the housing market through its shrinking programme. It might make perfect sense to force customers to go elsewhere but not if there is not much of an elsewhere to go to.