Nationally, it has been reported that house prices have fallen by one per cent compared with this time last year, with some experts predicting further drops to follow.

But while house prices slide, securing a mortgage has got harder.

The number of mortgages accepted nationally fell to its lowest level in nearly 10 years last month. And lenders have failed to pass on cuts in interest rates.

So what does this all mean for home-owners and potential buyers in Sudbury and the villages? Estate agents in the town report falling prices and fewer sales.

But they do not see this as the beginning of a housing crisis to match that of the early-1990s, when many people ended up owning houses that were worth less than the mortgage they had taken out to buy them – the dreaded negative equity.

Instead, agents believe the market is experiencing a short-term correction.

Tim West, of Sworders, in Gainsborough Street, said: "I think the market overheated in the last year. Prices kept going up when they should have steadied.

"By last summer prices had gone up 10% since the start of the year. I think they've now reset to the levels at the start of last year. I think prices will reset probably for this year and run level next year as everyone catches up.

"It is a correction, not a crash. House prices went up just a bit too far and have had to come down."

Paul Spankey, of Sudbury Property, in King Street, said: "It is a short-term thing. There are too many people and not enough houses to make it anything more.

"I think the general trend will continue for the next 18 to 24 months. It has happened before and will happen again."

Agents reporting a good number of homeowners wanting to sell but a combination of wary buyers and sellers stubborn over price meaning shifting properties has been difficult.

One agent reports that the difference between asking price and selling price is about five per cent.

"We are doing a reasonable number of deals but not as many as we would like," said Mr West. "There is an extraordinary reluctance among some sellers to accept the idea that house prices have come down.

"Slowly and surely that is happening. A lot of people who are putting their house on the market now are doing so at reasonable levels but it is the ones that have been on the market for a few months who are not budging."

It is still said to be difficult for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder but Sudbury agents report that those who have saved a good deposit are in a strong position.

"Those buyers who have agreed a mortgage, or have a good deposit, or who are coming out of rented accomodation are all in a good place to bargain," said one agent.

And the rental market is strong. Paul Vella, of Long Melford firm Vella Associates, said: "March was the busiest month we have ever had in terms of the number of lets and April was not far behind.