January 30, 2008
Why Gordon is wrong about the housing boom
Gordon Brown may come to regret today’s boast - in today’s prime minister’s questions - that Britain has "more homeowners than ever before".
Newcomers to the market are more exposed than anyone else if and when prices fall; which looks more and more likely. Especially now that banks are cutting back mortgage lending in the wake of the credit crunch.
The PM is still maintaining that circumstances are totally different to the early 90s, when interest rates were 11 per cent.
He is ignoring the fact that we’ve all borrowed far more this time to take account of the fact that debt is cheap. House prices have nearly tripled since the last crash. The key ratio - mortgage repayments as a proportion of income - is at its highest for over a decade and for many people will leap further this year as recent rate rises kick in.
Mr Brown tried to shrug off a question from Vince Cable, Lib Dem Treasury spokesman, asking whether the government had been "complacent" about the risks to the economy from the housing bubble. He may not be able to ignore it much longer.
