Government Must Force Banks To Offer New Loans Again
Although there have been the first signs of recovery in the housing and home owner loan markets, this sector of the UK economy is still extremely slow compared with the figures for new loans prior to the credit crunch.
Despite the huge programme of quantitative easing by the Treasury and various other schemes from the government to try and revitalise the housing and home owner loan markets, many onlookers still believe that the government should do more to force banks and building societies to offer realistically priced home owner loans and mortgages at much higher loan to value levels than they currently are doing.
Earlier this week, the Land Registry released the latest figures in its house price index and although all sectors and regions have been hit by the economic down turn, the figures show that properties in the North of England have been hit worse by the recession than any other area in the country. As a result of this, the TUC has jumped on the band wagon to call on the government to do more to support those people, particularly in the North, by getting banks to start offering loans again.
Brendan Barber of the TUC said “The Land Registry house price index shows that continued problems with banks giving their customers credit and concerns about job losses are having a real impact on the housing market in the UK. Last year, around 60,000 homes were being sold every month. Now the figure has fallen to about 40,000.
The drop in house prices and sales is being felt most keenly in the North of England, particularly in the North West, where the recession is also biting on employment. The government needs to keep putting pressure on banks to lend their customers money to keep the housing market and the wider economy moving. We also want to see the current fiscal stimulus maintained to move the UK out of recession as soon as possible.”
