‘We’re trapped’: despair for sellers as Iran war knocks confidence in UK housing market

Estate agents say rising mortgage costs have created a mood of fear, with Canterbury among the cities being hit

• Have you lost a mortgage deal or seen your rate rise?

On a warm, spring morning in Canterbury, the cobbled streets are buzzing with activity and the white Tudor houses gleam in the sun.

It is a scene that seems far removed from events in the Middle East, but the conflict is undermining business and consumer confidence – rattling the city’s housing market just as the spring selling season began.