Wednesday, Mar 18, 2009
Restore Stability = Prop up
Bloomberg: Seeking Ways to ‘Stabilize’ Housing Market, Beckett Says
The U.K. government is seeking new ways to prop up the housing market as a recession and a reduction in bank lending pushes down prices. “We are always looking at what more we can do to restore stability to the housing market,” Housing Minister Margaret Beckett will say today, according to a text of the remarks released by her office.
Posted by alan @ 07:21 PM (832 views) Add Comment
11 Comments
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1. paul said...
And still we see the problem being framed in such a way to solve Margaret Beckett's problems first, the housing market's second.
There is still an awfully long way to go for housing to fall with people like this in charge.
2. Sybil13 said...
Quote from article: "We are always looking at what more we can do to restore stability to the housing market,” Housing Minister Margaret Beckett will say today"
I ASSUME THAT IS WHY THE GOVERNMENT ALLOWED PROPERTY PRICES TO GO UP 190% IN LESS THAN A DECADE AND BRING THE UK TO THE BRINK OF BANKRUPTCY!
I just can't get it, how can a country go broke because without irresponsible lending most people could not afford property but now it seems that everyone thinks the best thing to do is do more of the same!!!
3. dude said...
Well, Government has to see the issue from all sides. So they have an interest in keeping prices up so those plonkers that bought at 10x salary will not get stuffed.
That's the problem. They should be allowed to go to the wall. If they bought at unsustainable prices they should suffer when those prices can't be sustained. After all, I thought we lived in a Capitalist society where market forces dictate what should be done.
I've said on here more times than I care to remember, if you don't like the Capitalist way, then the answer is to get the Government to invest in social housing on a big scale (and stuff the Green Belt lobby, they are just vested interests that want to keep you away from their views). Also, with reasonable legislation for tenants, the housing market will settle down to a sensible level again. Those that can afford to, and want to buy, will do. Everyone else will rent.
Get rid of the lazy, give-my-house-a-lick-of-paint, get-rich-quick schemes, and we will move back to a sensible economic sector. Keep pandering to people's greed (and stupidity), and we'll still be in this mess in five years time.
The problem with this country ultimately is not government (of either hue) but the sheeple. What needs to be done won't be done, because the sheeple are too stupid or greedy or selfish (or all of the above) to vote those in that can do a real job.
So we are stuck I'm afraid.
Right, back in my box...
4. I'm Alan Partridge said...
They did their very best not to restrore stability on the way up.
5. peter_2008 said...
"Beckett will meet the buyer, Sally Taylor, a 25 year-old policewoman who is acquiring a home at a Barratt Developments Plc site in Cheltenham, England."
It will be interesting to see how this poor girl cope 1 year down the line. Will Beckett revisit her and being egged? Ha!
6. Bertrand Thebault said...
We can see the long last strategy of this government: keeping the price of the property market high at all cost, as there are more home owners than tenants in the UK, so it is just an electoral strategy to carry on the borrowing binge which is particularly artificial during a credit crunch.
However the potential first time buyers who have been reasonible not to take the huge risks to get into the 10x yearly salary property market, are far from rewarded, as they may have to stay outside the market one more decade, complaining on the ridiculous interest they get from their savings.
But how could the goverment defeat the natural drop of the market without pumping more public money now the country has been ruined? Very likely by printing even more money and the quantitative easing was just the warming up.
So the price of the property will be go up in sterling, but as the sterling will crash, the house market will be flat or carry on droping when converting the market price in a stronger currency such as the euro. Also the inflation in the UK will rise, which will limit necessarily the low interest rate policy, and by rising the interest rate, current homeowners' morgages will be difficult to pay, and new mortgage will be unaffordable and perpetuate the credit crunch, unless the average salary rise stongly, which is unlikey in the current downturn.
There is no creation of wealthness by keeping the house market high, just transfers of money, the economy of a country can no be based on the artificial lack of house, it makes no sense, and all people are sick with this crazyness, not only the tenants who can't afford becoming homeowners for decades, but also the homeowners as they realise they might become millionaire, if they manage to sell their house but in a very weak currency and will be far from winning the lottery as expected.
Also a weaker sterling is just going to scare even more the international investors, and the sector might never recover.
7. Bertrand Thebault said...
We can see the long last strategy of this government: keeping the price of the property market high at all cost, as there are more home owners than tenants in the UK, so it is just an electoral strategy to carry on the borrowing binge which is particularly artificial during a credit crunch.
However the potential first time buyers who have been reasonible not to take the huge risks to get into the 10x yearly salary property market, are far from rewarded, as they may have to stay outside the market one more decade, complaining on the ridiculous interest they get from their savings.
But how could the goverment defeat the natural drop of the market without pumping more public money now the country has been ruined? Very likely by printing even more money and the quantitative easing was just the warming up.
So the price of the property will be go up in sterling, but as the sterling will crash, the house market will be flat or carry on droping when converting the market price in a stronger currency such as the euro. Also the inflation in the UK will rise, which will limit necessarily the low interest rate policy, and by rising the interest rate, current homeowners' morgages will be difficult to pay, and new mortgage will be unaffordable and perpetuate the credit crunch, unless the average salary rise stongly, which is unlikey in the current downturn.
There is no creation of wealthness by keeping the house market high, just transfers of money, the economy of a country can no be based on the artificial lack of house, it makes no sense, and all people are sick with this crazyness, not only the tenants who can't afford becoming homeowners for decades, but also the homeowners as they realise they might become millionaire, if they manage to sell their house but in a very weak currency and will be far from winning the lottery as expected.
Also a weaker sterling is just going to scare even more the international investors, and the sector might never recover.
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9. Dan said...
The entire article in misinformed.
I used to look into the initiatives every year, [no point now as houses will be crashing 60% + ] but I talked to the housing associations, estate agents, house builders, Joseph Rowntree trust, other trusts, and Homebuy agents for all the government schemes.
I always ended up, [For the last five, six years] no nearer to purchasing a home and feeling angry at the state of the housing market in the UK.
Only one of the government initatives was barely affordable, and that was the FTBI scheme. Whereupon, I would be required to purchase up to 50% of the property. Paying equity on a sliding scale after the first three years.
Every other scheme, where I could have purchased a larger percentage of the property, and then paid rent on the remaining percentage retained by the government, or trust, was almost always nearly as expensive as taking out a 100% mortgate on the property.
And so was therefore totally useless to me. And everyone else in my situation.
There was no FTBI accomodation available in North Yorkshire. The nearest in all those years I was looking, were High rise flats, in northern city centres.
And only a handful of those. The slums of the future.
Even if there had been any thing halfway decent, I had many conversations with nearly all of the local county councils, who informed me time and time again that I would not be allowed to move to their area, [to take advantage of the government schemes] because according to all the local County Councils, I had to have family, work, or some other form of ties to the area, to live there.
I used to call them all. All the time.
So its a sham. More Government Lies. I even wrote to my MP, at the time [Labour] and recieved no reponse.
Of course if you are a 'key' worker !!!!! then the government will take care of you!!!!!
As someone priced out for a decade This government have TOTALLY FORGOTTEN ABOUT FTB, and are doing everything to keep the UK artificially inflated, persecuting anyone and everyone who did not get onto the housing ladder around 2000.
Words cannot describe the anger I feel toward Brown and his cronies.
This is the truth of the situation.
10. timmy t said...
Stable house prices are a good thing. Trying to stabilise them at their peak is stupid. Stabilising them at an affordable level would have been sensible. But then the Government would have missed out on ten years of popularity. Politicians need to realise they are here to do what is best for the country, not what is best for them.
11. growler said...
The Government ministers have obviously been told by their PR agency to use phrases such as "We", "always looking", "at what more we can do". It's like boardroom bingo. The idea is that they repeat this phrase as often as possible so that we think "they're doing as much as they can". In truth, they know there is nothing they can do. Just look at every cabinet speakers comments... they are on their last legs and are trying everything