Monday, Jun 30, 2008
Some gemstone quotes here
Telegraph: UK house prices fall for ninth straight month
Similar to Guardian piece but worth reading for the risible quotes:
"At the weekend Professor Stephen Nickell, a leading housing advisor to Gordon Brown, warned that it would take until 2015 for the property market to start booming again. He also warned that the “severe rationing” of mortgages was preventing first time buyers from taking advantage of falling house prices, preventing affordability from improving."
A peach that one. How many GCSEs do you have to fail to become a leading house advisor?
Even better:
"Richard Donnell ... said: “This drop in volumes was always possible as around half of all transactions in recent years have been driven by aspirational or non needs based movers, who are now sitting on their hands." "
What shall we do this weekend. I know, let's move house.
3 Comments
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1. mark wadsworth said...
A year ago Stephen Nickell was bravely forecasting that house prices would rise to ten-times-income by 2026.
Six months ago he had toned this down slightly and solemnly told the House of Lords that prices might 'only' rise to over nine-times-income by 2026.
Here's the same chap again, solemnly predicting that house prices are now on the slide (oh, so he noticed!). And, apart from being wildly out with his original predictions and not apologizing for that in any way, he appears to think that house price falls are a bad thing: "Families must wait until 2015 for the property market to start booming again".
For young couples who'd like to start a 'family' these price falls are a most wonderful thing!
The terrifying thing is that gummint stooges like this serve on the BoE monetary policy commiitte.
(I have cut and pasted this from my blog, If you want all the links to back this up, then see here.)
2. paul said...
"a slew of data now suggesting that the UK is in the grip of major house price slump, rather than just a downturn."
Soft landing -> Levelling off -> Temporary blip -> Downturn -> Slump -> Crash
3. crash bandicoot said...
"The average two-year fixed rate mortgage went through the 7 per cent barrier last week. The same deal would have cost just 4.34 per cent two years ago. These high rates have meant that first-time buyers and people wanting to move house are unable to take advantage of the falling prices"
I thought that it was all about monthly affordability. High house prices were justified by low cost of borrowing. Now that does not exist any more, what is there to justify the high prices? I think that we all know the answer.