3rd March 2009, 05:02 PM
I have personally know two friends who have finally bought flats in the last month as prices came down. Whilst everyone is more concerned about job security than a year ago, and may be far more hesitant about making a purchase many see buying a home as a requirement. There are many people, especially with historically low interest rates, that see this as an opportunity to buy a property. The government is committed to seeing more credit availability, see Northern Rock being sent back into the mortgage market. Many of the strings attached to banks are to increase credit to fuel the economy. There is a massive need for affordable homes, and the demand is there.
It would almost certainly be a better bet than the money being used to insure banks against their bad decisions. Which I believe is what the house builders were saying: giving ?5billion to build houses, and safeguard and create jobs, plus give people the chance to buy homes is better value than ?500billion to banks (or is it ?1.3trillion now, hard to keep up).
The government were talking about a requirement for several hundred thousand new homes in the south east alone. With a reversion to sensible prices, due to the bubble bursting and increased supply, people will buy.
Whether I believe in the economics of this, or indeed in property full stop is open to question...
It would almost certainly be a better bet than the money being used to insure banks against their bad decisions. Which I believe is what the house builders were saying: giving ?5billion to build houses, and safeguard and create jobs, plus give people the chance to buy homes is better value than ?500billion to banks (or is it ?1.3trillion now, hard to keep up).
The government were talking about a requirement for several hundred thousand new homes in the south east alone. With a reversion to sensible prices, due to the bubble bursting and increased supply, people will buy.
Whether I believe in the economics of this, or indeed in property full stop is open to question...