Plender: Would-be homeowners confront a horrendous problem of affordability.

When politicians promise to make homes more affordable they are being utterly disingenuous because the requisite drop in house prices might lead to their being thrown out by the large pool of owners whose houses would be worth less.

 They prefer instead to bolster demand by offering financial support to first-time buyers via schemes such as the perverse Help to Buy initiative that until recently provided guarantees for mortgages that required only a 5 per cent deposit.

 John Plender, FT 14 May 2017

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