Prospects for the UK housing market took another hit as data showed the number of mortgage approvals slid to a 16-month low in August, weighed down by job fears and tight lending criteria.
Net mortgage lending increased by £2.5 billion in August compared with £1.9 billion in July, according to the British Bankers' Association. A year earlier, lending grew £3.3 billion, the association said, suggesting that housing-market activity is now much slower than in the second half of 2009 and the first few months of this year. "Even with stable or falling house prices the current economic climate makes it unlikely that demand will pick up in the near future."
If ever there was a self fulfilling prophecy then that last statement was it! And the proof is in the first paragraph: tight lending criteria.
The banks are asking for 25% deposit, to be a customer and a saver, 3, 4, 5 per cent over base (which is 0,5% at the moment) and also charge a fee of up to £1,000.
No wonder there is no demand if that’s the cost of the supply.
So if you cant buy , you rent, but anybody trying to get any loan from a bank to buy rentable property is laughed at. “Don’t you know we lent squillians to corporate investors and we have to get it back somehow!”
You cant sell a house in the UK at the moment as there is no supply of property, unless you reduce the price. If you do reduce the price some other poor bugger in your road may becomes a negative equity ‘owner’!
The British Government (that is the taxpayer) own most of the Banks, RBS, Northern Rock, Lloyds etc. Can’t we have a say in what goes on in Banking circles?
No Chance!!
No comments:
Post a Comment