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NAEA calls on government to follow US lead

Thursday, 24 July 2008 12:00 AM

The American market caused the global subprime crisis and it will be the US which leads the way out of it.

That is the view of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), which argues the British government should follow the American lead and take preventative action to protect the property market.

"It is worrying to see that it has taken more than a million people losing their homes for the US administration to take action by introducing the housing rescue plan, including a tax break of as much as $7,500 (£3,750) for first-time buyers," said Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA.

"The housing market is a pillar of our economy and while we are not in the same position as the US and it will require different solutions there are things that our government can do to ease the pressure and ensure our situation does not worsen."

The comments follow the passing of a £2 billion housing bill by the American House of Representatives this morning, offering emergency funds to those at risk of having their property repossessed.

"The first thing the government could do is introduce a tax break, such as abolishing stamp duty for first-time buyers and moving the thresholds up to ease pressure throughout the whole housing market giving people a reason and incentive to come back," continued Mr King.

This, however, seems unlikely with the government already facing lean times as the economy slows.

"In addition, the Bank of England needs to pump more liquidity into the mortgage markets to ensure people are able to find funding for mortgages, together with the government supporting more pro-active initiatives, such as the blueprint recently drawn up by The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) to address the funding problems in the mortgage market.

"These are just some measures that will really help people and restore much needed belief in the market," added Mr King.

Earlier this week figures from the NAEA revealed property transactions had continued to slip.

Chris O'Toole

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