Michael Gove says he begs Jeremy Hunt every day for more money to fix housing crisis
MICHAEL Gove yesterday admitted he begs Jeremy Hunt every day for more money to fix Britain’s broken housing market.
And he vowed to keep pleading with the Chancellor ahead of next month’s Spring Budget, as ministers have been criticised for crushing the goal of home ownership among youngsters.
Housing Secretary Mr Gove told the BBC: “I’m doing everything I can, short of laying siege to Jeremy Hunt’s home.
“Every day I send him a note or a message emphasising the importance of doing more to unlock housing supply.
“And he gets it.
“So Jeremy Hunt is someone who absolutely appreciates the importance of supporting the next generation.”
Mr Gove insisted the Tories are not to blame for sky-high house prices.
He instead blamed a “growing population”, squeezed mortgages and not enough new builds for the crisis.
Ministers insist that one million new homes will have been built by the next Parliament.
And this week Mr Gove will announce plans to boost building on brownfield sites.
Developers will be permitted to convert empty office blocks, department stores and commercial buildings through a streamlined planning process.
But critics have slammed relaxed house-building targets, which would mean fewer being built during the housing crisis.
Will there be a house price crash?
The last time property prices crashed was during the global financial crisis in 2008.
UK house prices reached an average of £190,032 in September 2007 and had dropped to £154,417 by February 2009 – a fall of more than 18%.
They did not regain that peak until August 2014. But what about house prices now and will they crash?
David Hollingworth, from broker firm L&C Mortgages, said despite major market volatility last year causing house prices to fall, he didn’t expect a crash any time soon in 2024.
He said: “It will take time but lower mortgage rates should help to encourage buyers that put their plans on hold last year to come back to the market.
“The lack of available property has supported prices to now but as confidence builds we could see activity pick up this year.
“December’s inflation figures will dampen the expectation for a base rate cut to be imminent but shouldn’t be enough to send mortgages rocketing, although it could potentially apply the brakes to rate reductions.
“There’s still uncertainty but overall things the outlook looks more positive and there’s little to suggest that house prices are set to crash.”