Darling confident about UK housing market
Although there has been a significant slowdown in the UK housing market over recent months the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has stated that he is still confident about the UK housing market, adding that the UK is far less vulnerable to a house price crash than the US due to a range of contributing factors, including low unemployment, shortage of housing, and falling interest rates.
Speaking at the Engineering Employers’ Federation Dinner in London, darling added that whilst repossession levels had gone up they would not reach the same level as they did in the 1990s.
He said: “Market conditions today are very different from those we saw in the early 1990s. Interest rates remain at comparatively low levels - as do mortgage rates. And unemployment is currently at 30-year lows.”
He added: “What’s more, there are important differences between the housing market in the US and the housing market here. While many US mortgages were sold at hugely discounted rates, leaving people unable to meet repayments when rates increased, lenders in the UK have been more responsible in taking account of an individual’s ability to pay. And demand for housing outstrips supply.