Despite some of the recent gloom in the housing market, the number of properties for sale in Britain that have been reduced in price since coming onto the market has actually fallen over the last three months.

The average asking price discount has also fallen, despite the changes to stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in March, according to property search website Zoopla.co.uk.

Landlord Assist, the nationwide tenant eviction and rent collection firm, believes that landlords are likely to adopt a more cautious approach to their expansion plans now that the UK has technically slipped back into recession.

Over the past 18 months landlords have enjoyed favourable market conditions with tenant demand exceeding supply and interest rates at a record low level.

House prices in the three months to April were 0.3% higher than in the previous quarter, marking the first rise in this measure for seven months, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.

On a monthly basis, house prices fell by 2.4% in April. This more than offset the previous month's 2.2% increase as prices continue to fluctuate month-to-month.

Despite the housing slump of the last three years, the long term home-owning aspirations of buyers are higher than at any time since the 1970s.

Research carried out for the AA Home Emergency Response service reveals that of those who have bought their first home in the period since the 2008 housing peak, 37% say they feel they can realistically aspire to owning a detached home.

An influential committee of cross-party MPs has thrown its weight behind two of the British Property Federation's key recommendations to tackle the UK's housing crisis.

The CLG committee, headed by Clive Betts MP, has published its Financing of New Housing Supply report which argues institutions and pension funds "could make a significant contribution to the building of new homes in both the private and social rented sectors" while real estate investment trust (REITS) "should be revamped to encourage investment in housing."

The more optimistic outlook for the residential property market looked to have run out of steam in April as prices edged lower, says the latest RICS UK Housing Market survey.

Across the country, 19 percent more chartered surveyors reported falls rather than rises in house prices.

Spending on DIY has declined to its lowest level in over 15 years amid the continued squeeze on household finances and a subdued housing market, according to research by Lloyds TSB.

Households spent a total of £7.8 billion on DIY in 2011 – equivalent to around £300 per household; the lowest total since records began in 1996 and almost half of the £15.5 billion spent at the peak in 2004.

The largest independent study of commercial property tenancies will next week reveal a fall in lease lengths to a new low of 4.8 years on average as landlords work in step with tenant requirements.

An increasingly polarised market has developed over the past year, with some long term deals on prime property, but also a tendency for some occupiers to opt for a ‘stop gap’, rather than more medium term leases.

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has welcomed the Communities and Local Government Select Committee report which highlights the need to address key issues about future housing finance.

Gavin Smart, CIH director of policy and practice, said:

Halifax has launched the UK's first smartphone app which offers a 'one stop shop' for UK house hunters.

The app combines property search facilities, mortgage affordability calculators, local area information and property buyers' guides.