Although Mark Carney took a while to understand the mechanics of the British economy, I think he is certainly starting to understand the dynamics of the property market.  The London residential market is growing by circa 8% but in outer regions of the UK it is far less.

Help-To-Buy has had a substantial political effect but due to its limited scope it has not, in itself, been responsible for ‘stoking up’ a housing bubble at the lower end of the market and, therefore, it should not be prematurely withdrawn in line with certain bellicose comments against it.  It is an excellent initiative and should continue unabated for a while longer at least. Continue reading →

As if the Labour Party is not sufficiently wedded to interfering in markets wait till you hear Ed’s new mantra on control of the rental markets. It would be laughable if he were not so serious about it Continue reading →

According to reports banks are putting ‘the brakes’ on approval of new mortgages as new rules come into play at the end of the month.

I am not sure why this is necessary, since from my experience in the industry, mortgagees and lending institutions are, if anything, taking an inordinate amount of time to approve mortgages burdened by the weight of regulatory processes and, if anything, they are frustrating the number of sales done by the time delays. Continue reading →