| "No overvaluation of this kind has been corrected without a crash." | |
| Gavin Cameron, Nuffield College Oxford | April 2004 |
| "If the housing market were to weaken markedly, interest rates would be cut. In previous housing recessions this was not possible because interest rates were tied to the exchange rate, as in the early 90s, or there was a massive surge in inflation as in the mid-70s. I would happily wager 100 pounds for charity that Tony Dye's forecast is wrong." | |
| Stephen Bell, Deutsche Bank | April 2004 |
| "The housing market is over- valued - I don't think that's contentious - so it's vulnerable to a fall. What is uncertain is the timing and amount and what effect a fall would have on the economy." | |
| Ben Broadbent, Goldman Sachs | April 2004 |
| "At the rate we're seeing so far this year, I can easily see house price inflation hitting 20% this year - twice the level we saw last year." | |
| Miles Shipside, RightMove | April 2004 |
| "With just over a year to go to the predicted May election, Gordon Brown has conjured up a classic pre-election boom." | |
| Ernst and Young ITEM club | April 2004 |
| "Speculation of a pending housing market crash has no foundation. Interest rates still remain historically low, unemployment remains at a record low and incomes are rising strongly. Meanwhile lenders continue to compete vigorously for new business with exceptionally attractive mortgage offers. All the signs suggest that we are heading for a soft landing after the heavy price rises of recent years." | |
| John Wriglesworth, Hometrack Economist | June 2004 |
| "Speculation of a pending housing market crash has no foundation. Interest rates still remain historically low, unemployment remains at a record low and incomes are rising strongly. Meanwhile lenders continue to compete vigorously for new business with exceptionally attractive mortgage offers. All the signs suggest that we are heading for a soft landing after the heavy price rises of recent years." | |
| John Wriglesworth | June 2004 |
| "Prices are now well above what most people would regard as sustainable in the longer term." | |
| Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England | June 2004 |
| "The Chancellor is still unwilling to recognise that there is a problem. He has failed to tackle the house price bubble, or even to take responsibility for it." | |
| Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor | June 2004 |
| "It's nonsense. Headline-grabbing claptrap. There is no bubble about to burst." | |
| John Wriglesworth | June 2004 |
External Sites