Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist IHS Global Insight, said the figures confirmed that 'the revival in housing prices since early 2009 is running out of steam, at least temporarily'. If the increase in supply continues, prices are likely to suffer a 'significant correction', he added.

The impact of such proposals, if implemented, would be profound. There would be no more 100% mortgages, let alone the 125% mortgages once offered by Northern Rock. Instead, anyone who wanted to buy a house would have to save for a deposit first. House prices would fall.In the UK of 2010 this all sounds like revolutionary stuff. But it was the norm for the first quarter of a century after the second world war, and in Germany or France such restrictions on credit would still be seen as prudential.

Posted by mick rupert @ 09:45 PM 13 Comments

Mark W and LVT supporters - I shall be going to the Monday and Friday sessions, and hopefully a few more if I can find the time. I will, hopefully, be bringing along a BBC camera man who I am trying to make a documentary on taxation and my own specialism.

To me, unemployment is people who want to work, but can't or simply don't want to... however due to some nice number diddling the government has heralded "lower unemployment", despite more people becoming economically inactive. The number of people unemployed in the UK has fallen again, leaving the jobless rate at 7.8%, figures show. Total unemployment stood at 2.45 million for the three months to January, down 33,000 on the figure for the previous three months. But long-term unemployment, covering those out of work for more than a year, rose by 61,000 to 687,000. The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell by 32,300 to 1.59 million in February.

Posted by exiges @ 12:18 PM 9 Comments

Property investment managers and developers have warned that the threat of a double dip recession in the UK is real and would force banks to sell off their property portfolios. Delegates at MIPIM, Europe’s largest property fair, said the UK has survived on government aid since the recession and that a cut in spending could expose the underlying weaknesses of the property market. The Homes and Communities Agency has spent £1.65bn on keeping private sector building projects afloat over the past two years. “Since the recession all new housing projects have been subsidised by the government,� said Robert Lee, partner at the real estate law firm Davies Arnold Cooper. “What happens when this is cut?�

Posted by mark wadsworth @ 10:27 AM 46 Comments

It is somewhat frustrating that the pundits like Jeremy Warner (of The Daily Telegraph) and Robert Peston (of the BBC) write the obvious with such a long, long delay. Rather than reading Warner ("Another banking crisis loom" - blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100004314/another-banking-crisis-looms/) or Peston I suggest you (re)read Pytel’s blog post of July last year, “Is another liquidity crunch on the way?�

Posted by ant @ 09:54 AM 36 Comments

Perhaps they've seen what's just round the corner ...

Posted by paul @ 08:16 AM 9 Comments

Private equity firms and many nonfinancial companies were able to borrow on easy terms until the credit crisis hit in 2007, but not until 2012 does the long-delayed reckoning begin for a series of leveraged buyouts and other deals that preceded the crisis ... From $21 billion due this year, junk bonds are set to mature at a rate of $155 billion in 2012, $212 billion in 2013 and $338 billion in 2014.

Votes are currently standing at: ...brilliant. Just what we need - 32.3% ...awful. It will wreck the countryside - 55.6% ...it'll never happen anyway - 12.2%

"The number of borrowers behind with mortgage repayments fell by 4% in the last quarter of 2009, as low interest rates continued to help homeowners meet their monthly bills, figures showed today." Interesting information showing us that the road to HPC is not one way. This is particularly relevant because it's been a long time since interest rates changed so that is not a reason for the improvement in mortgage arrears. I'm not sure why it takes 3 months to get this information published, but it will be interesting to see the results for the post Christmas period in another 3 months time.

Posted by catmandu @ 12:51 PM 48 Comments