House prices, doom and gloom

Because of my work I have a large interest in what is going on in the world of doom and gloom - otherwise known as mortgage and house prices.

There was a report within the last 24hours saying that the average age of the first time buyer was now 37years old due to the amount lenders request as a deposit and that there are less people buying houses due to a drop in prices etc.

But what is actually happening? If you have a good credit rating and a deposit there is nothing to stop you getting a mortgage, if you have sold your house and have a deposit then you can buy another property. So are these reports actually telling us anything or are they filling us full of fear?

Personally I have had a busy few months lately with EPCs in both the rental and sales side and my work load is up compared to the same months in 2009 and 2008 and am just hoping that it will continue.